Trust the Unseen Passion
by Tishannia
Summary: Riku & Kairi Collection; o80. never again would he look at anything the same way
1. by my side

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#94. ocean - (by my side)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

His eyes were the exact color of the brilliantly shining sea spread out before her.

_Never be afraid..._

She couldn't get over how alike he and the water were -- one minute they would be calm and soothing...

...And the next they'd be ferocious and dangerous.

_It's okay, Kairi... I'm here._

There were so many secrets and mysteries bottled up beneath the surface... So much that you didn't know, couldn't find out. Not easily.

_I won't let you go, don't worry._

Thinking back on that day... How could she be afraid of the water?

When it was the one way she could feel closer to him then anything else when he wasn't there with her...?

* * *


	2. secret wishes

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#20. fantasy (secret wishes)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"He was happy for us."

Sora's eyes had lit up with happiness when Riku had told him the news; that he and Kairi were together -- they were happy.

"Really? That's so good!" Kairi exclaimed, throwing her arms around the silver haired boys neck and breathing in his scent.

_'We can finally be together...'_

_'...Without feeling guilty.'_

In one fluid motion he caught her lips with his and they shared a long, passionate kiss. His hands slid down to grip her waist and he pressed her hips to his, the hunger inside him stirring...

A laugh from nearby shattered the image and Riku opened his eyes to see Sora and Kairi frolicking and thoroughly enjoying each other's company in the water and on the beach.

Without Riku.

Because Kairi belonged with Sora; to Sora.

Riku stood slowly and turned away from the sight. He wasn't about to ruin their blooming relationship for his own personal needs.

He was content with his little fantasy.

Even if it was painful to know that it would never become a reality.

* * *


	3. still here

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#27. fear - (__still here)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She woke with a silent scream, sitting abruptly and holding her hand to her head. Her breathing was erratic, but she didn't hear it. She could only hear the sound breathing of her two best friends, Riku and Sora.

They had decided to stay at Kairi's house for the night; to stay together. They'd become inseparable ever since they'd returned home.

She'd been having vivid dreams lately, though she didn't dare tell the other two. They'd already been through enough -- the last thing they needed was to worry about her. Again.

This time though, this particular issue, she didn't think she could keep to herself. It was a darkened thought, circling and circling through her head, coming closer and closer intent on driving her mad.

No, she _had_ to tell someone.

She looked from Sora, who was sleeping on the floor haphazardly and snoring loudly, to Riku, who was sprawled across the couch silent as ever.

Standing quietly, she walked across the cold hardwood floor, stepping over Sora ever so gently, stopping only when her knees had hit the couch.

"Riku...?" She whispered softly. But it was enough.

His eyes drifted open lazily and he raised his eyes to hers. His eyebrows furrowed and he frowned slightly, raising himself up onto his elbows. "What's wrong?"

She lowered her eyes to the floor and felt herself shivering. She could feel the faintest burn of her cheeks as she tried to find a way to word her request. "I uh... Do you mind if I...?" She began, but was grateful when he seemed to read her mind. He moved himself as close as he could get to the inside of the couch and raised the blanket covering him.

She smiled and slipped in beside him, snuggling up to him. He draped an arm over her waist and laid his chin on the top of her head, sighing. Despite the fact that there was no more room between them, she tried to move closer.

"Riku...?"

"Yeah?" He asked sleepily.

"... You're not..."

"Going to leave again... Are you?"

Riku tightened his arm around her slightly at her words. "Now why would you think that?"

"I just..." She bit her lip. "What if you're needed again? What if... The King calls you back there for something?"

Riku's eyebrows furrowed again, though she couldn't see it. He shifted slightly, not in discomfort, but to bring her closer to him. "I'm not going to go anywhere without you." She seemed to relax a little at his words but he could still sense that something was bothering her; there was something more. "What else?"

Kairi closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "I've been having dreams lately. Not really nightmares, but they're vivid; enough to scare me a little."

"What're they about?" He asked, fully awake now.

"I just... I see a lot of heartless in my dreams." She shook her head. "And I always manage to get through it enough so that I come to a door... Most of the time it would just start to open and then I'd wake up but..." She swallowed. "This time I saw both of you on the other side and then you just... Disappeared."

"Kai." Riku said with a reassuring tone, hugging her tightly. "We're not going to disappear, alright?"

"I was so alone." Her voice broke and Riku felt a warmth seep into his shirt -- she was crying. "I was _always alone_. Nobody knew, nobody _understood_ what was going on. I was so lost without you guys."

Riku's heart broke -- she'd never said anything of this before now. He nuzzled the side of her face and kissed her cheek, whispering reassuring words. After a while, she quietened down to a mere sniffle.

"Promise me... You'll be right here in the morning." She asked, looking up at him. "Don't leave."

"I promise, Kai. Go to sleep. I'll be right here." He said, his eyes locked with hers.

She lowered her head down onto his chest and almost instantly she was asleep.

This time, she had no dreams, no nightmares.

He was there, just like he promised.

* * *


	4. one word

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#96. writer's choice - (one word)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Sora laid the now wet cloth across Kairi's forehead and sighed. She always did choose the worst days to get sick -- today, when the two of them and Riku were supposed to be having a night out with Wakka, Tidus and Selphie.

Of course, he and Riku had decided to stay behind and look after her; she had an intense fever and her parents weren't going to be home all day.

Riku was out trying to find something she could eat when she awoke. They'd searched and searched but there hadn't been a single can of soup.

Figures.

So now, alone with Kairi who was sleeping rather peacefully, Sora was tending to her -- though he was finding it more and more difficult. The feelings he had for her that he'd barred inside of him were beginning to emerge full force as his eyes swept over her form, illuminated by the slight sunlight seeping through the blinds.

Subconsciously, he let his finger's lightly trace over her cheeks and lips.

He'd done everything to save her; given everything up.

He knew that soon, he would have to tell her how he felt. Very soon.

Perhaps... When she woke up.

With a sudden and startled gasp Kairi jolted and her hand grasped Sora's painfully. He froze, his fingers still resting on her lips. Her eyes opened halfway and Sora paled. She frowned slightly before moving her hand behind his head and pulling him into a kiss.

Sora's eyes widened but he couldn't stop himself from deepening the kiss.

She seemed to go almost slack in his hold and he raised his face so it was inches away from hers. "Kairi...?" He whispered.

"...Riku." She whispered back, before fading back into fevered dreams.

* * *


	5. lost inside her

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#46. eyes - (lost inside her)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Riku let the sun wash over him as he sat quietly, eyes closed, listening to Kairi's insistent humming. He could hear Sora, Wakka and Selphie splashing in the water before them and found himself feeling content. Happy, even.

It had been a while since he'd let himself feel something he actually wanted to feel so deeply.

Kairi's humming stopped and she giggled. "Riku, look." He opened his eyes slowly, annoyed at the loss of the naturally soothing sound, and saw that Selphie had fallen into the water with Wakka -- but to make matters worse, right on top of him. Sora was laughing like an idiot to the side and Riku could only surmise that he'd been the one to cause the awkward predicament.

He turned his head to look at Kairi. Her eyes were shimmering from both the sunlight and from mirth.

He regretted how easily it was to get lost in her perfectly hued violet irises -- He knew how stupid he was making himself out to be when he sat there just staring at her. One day, he was sure to be caught.

"Rikuuuu?"

Riku focused suddenly. Eyes widening, he scrambled backwards. Speak of the devil...! How had she...?

Perhaps he'd scrambled _too_ far. Cursing himself to the high heaven's he fell right off the dock and straight into the water.

He heard Kairi burst into laughter at his expense, but found that he didn't really mind.

She was happy, he was happy.

It was all good.

* * *


	6. he's gone

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#53. returning - (he's gone) _

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

_"He's gone, Kairi. He's gone."_

Kairi thought back to the day, eight days ago, when Sora had said those words to her. The way he'd spoken, so gravely and his face set in stone, she was sure her heart had stopped beating.

Was he really... _gone_? Never coming home?

He hadn't even said goodbye. He hadn't and that gave her a reassurance, something to hold onto.

He would never leave, unsure of whether he would return, without seeing her.

Would he...?

Kairi shook the thoughts from her head and stared out at the rolling waves, the palm trees glowing a dim orange and pink due to the arriving sunset.

_Eight days..._

"He'll come back..." Kairi said softly, letting the wind carry her words away. "He has to."

_Eight dangerous days..._

Absentmindedly, she kicked at the soft sand under her feet. She walked forward a bit, leaving soft impressions in the sand. Hissing in pain suddenly, she hopped backwards. Curiously, she peered closer at the sand, trying to find the source of her pain.

She gasped when she saw it and fell to her knees, pulling the object out.

Thalassa shells?

Riku's... thalassa shells?

Kairi brought a hand to her mouth and she felt a sting of tears. He wouldn't leave them, he wouldn't be so _careless_. If there was one thing she knew for sure, she knew that this charm she'd made meant a lot to him.

_He's gone..._

_He's gone..._

Sora's words echoed inside her head and the tears threatened but she held them back. She wasn't one to cry, to beg.

Yet the urge was suddenly so strong and she was instantly disgusted in herself. Disgusted in the fact that she could give up hope so easily, after all they'd gone through.

She stayed like that for a while, motionless with the thoughts and fears dousing her insides. Night had fallen before she knew it and she was left alone on the island. The water tugged at her boat that was tied to the dock, almost asking her to climb in and set off, to leave her fears and unrest behind.

At a loss of what to do next, she began to sing a song softly, listening to the rippling waves and staring into the twinkling mass of stars strewn about above her. She felt herself become relaxed and eventually she closed her eyes.

Time got the best of her and she felt herself drifting off. Whispering the last few lines of her song, she let the black abyss of dreams take her.

_"... Oh, come on Sora. Don't be such a baby."_

_"It was dangerous. You should have told me, us."_

Kairi frowned and she slowly let her eyes flutter open. Whoever was making so much noise was going to get a... He eyes widened as she realized she wasn't on the island anymore.

She was on a bed.

She started and would have fallen off the bed had it not been for whoever had caught her.

"Wow, Kai, calm down."

Kairi looked up and violet met green.

Riku grinned down at her and she noticed he didn't look very bad -- there was one nasty scar starting from right under his eye and ending somewhere beneath his vest, though. "How come I found you passed out on the dock this morning?"

Kairi said nothing, surprised to see him there at all.

"Come on, both of you, I'd think you'd be happier to see me." Riku joked, pulling Kairi around so she was sitting safely on the bed again. "Although, you have no idea what went through my head when I saw you on that dock."

"I..." She began. "I was waiting for you." Kairi frowned after she said that.

_Not even a goodbye._

"Why didn't you say anything to me before you left!" Kairi asked, a slight anger washing over her. She wished she could feel more anger for once, but the one emotion that was really gripping her was relief.

Riku shrugged. "I was coming back."

Sora mumbled something under his breath before turning and leaving the room. Riku spared him a fleeting glance before focusing on her again. Before he knew what was happening her arms were around his neck and his arm was around her waist, the other holding them up off the ground.

"I'm really glad you're okay..." Kairi whispered into his neck, bringing herself closer to him.

Riku smiled and kissed the top of her head lightly. "Of course, I'm okay. I had to come back and see you again, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." She said, pulling back and quickly slipping the thalassa charm into his pocket without him noticing. She laid a chaste kiss on his lips before standing and walking out, leaving Riku to share her same expression of giddiness, a smile tugging at his lips.

* * *


	7. their mistake

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#15. sexuality - (their mistake)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Her hot breath on his neck was driving him insane and the need to touch her was escalating.

He wanted to feel her; her plush lips, her sparkling cheeks, the curve of her breasts and the smooth skin of her thighs circling his torso.

He wanted to hear her; moaning and calling his name while writhing in pure ecstasy as he pounded into her relentlessly.

The sweet kiss was his invitation to make his wishes a reality and he ravished her so completely that she was begging for more and he was willing to give. Their blood sang with fulfillment as the emotional high of the moment took them over.

In due time they might realize their mistake, but as for now they were content to lay in each other's arms.

Letting go...

Feeling _free_.

* * *


	8. don't say it

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#12. promise - (don't say it)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Riku, can you promise me something?" Kairi asked out of the blue, turning her head to look at her in a way Riku could only describe as cute.

_I..._

"Of course." Riku said, falling back on one hand and draping the other over his knee.

"Mmm... Promise me you'll always be here." She said, laughing lightly to hide her insecurity on the subject.

_I don't know if I can._

"Who said I was leaving?" He joked, letting a few minutes of silence settle between them before adding, rather seriously, "I'll always be here."

_But I can try. _

"For me." She said quietly, eyes lowered.

Riku closed his eyes. She'd uttered the words he hadn't wanted to hear -- how could he promise her something he wasn't entirely sure he could live up to, wasn't sure he could give? Regardless, he moved his hand and settled it over hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"For you."

* * *


	9. the start of something new

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#10. beginning - (the start of something new)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

When she'd first arrived at the island, Riku hadn't been sure of what to think. He was young but he wasn't stupid -- children didn't just fall from the sky.

Sora was mesmerized by her; Riku couldn't understand what for, so he had decided to check her out for himself.

He had had _no idea_ what he was getting himself into.

He'd made sure he could be alone with her. Sora was off with Selphie and Tidus, playing one of their newly made up games, most likely. Finding her, of course, was difficult. She was quiet and kept to herself, afraid of what he didn't know.

She didn't seem all that bad.

He'd sat with her on the beach all day, watching her with interest, occasionally throwing out the odd questions which, to his dismay, were unanswered.

_"Where did you come from?"_

_"How old are you?"_

_"Why did you come here?"_

He wanted to know.

Throughout the rest of the week, she seemed to open up a little more. She smiled often and she began to giggle at some of the things he did.

Oddly enough, he found himself liking her and actually _wanting_ to spend more time with her.

Then came the day they'd been collecting shells on the beach in comfortable silence. She broke it by sighing and glancing at him curiously, as if wondering what he would do if she asked a certain question, a certain something.

She didn't _ask_, so much.

She more or less _told_ him.

Smiling, her hands clasped behind her back, she looked...

Ugh. She looked cute, okay? He would die of course, before anyone was to know that.

She was coming closer to him. Closer, closer...

He didn't expect her to throw her arms around his neck and giggle before letting go and planting a kiss on his cheek.

"I think I like you!" She'd said cheerfully, albeit a bit quietly. Blushing, she turned and ran away.

He stood in shock for a moment, contemplating what to do now.

She'd just kissed him.

While Sora and Tidus probably would have squirmed and squealed, "cooties", Riku found he sort of enjoyed it. No, he didn't _mind_ it.

Damn.

He heard her laugh as she looked behind her only to find him running after her.

Yes, he hadn't known what he was getting himself into but he was glad that, in the end, he had.

That one kiss had signified the beginning of a new friendship -- a very special friendship.

A new love to last them throughout the years.

* * *


	10. memorable happenings

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#43. memory - (memorable happenings)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She'd never known what had really happened that day so long ago. She'd never asked and they'd never told.

Thinking back, she wished she knew. She wished she could remember more then a blinding light and the contours of a nameless face. What had happened? Where had that light come from? _Who_ was that person?

Unanswered questions. She let it go a lot of the time -- but she suddenly had the strongest urge to _know_. To remember.

Finding either one of the boys hadn't exactly been easy. Getting around the island was, for them, quite simple now. They were able to jump a fair distance and height and they were able to run... Well, faster then she could dream of keeping up with.

Her silver haired friend was reluctant to even walk with her, almost as though he anticipated what she was going to say next.

He did.

"Kai, I'm not really up to talking about it."

"Will you ever be?" Kairi asked, looking up at him. He lowered his eyes to the floor and that only fueled her need to know. "What happened? It's been too long, just tell me."

"It's not that easy." Riku said, kicking at the sand, his eyes darting about. Looking for Sora, she thought, to come and help him with this.

"Was it really that bad?"

"There's nothing to say -- Sora sacrificed his heart for you and you became conscious again. He turned into a heartless and you were there, you know the rest."

"Where were you?" She asked confused, her voice turning harsh. It took a few moments but Riku finally answered, his voice just as harsh, if not more, then hers.

"I was watching from the sidelines and damning Sora to hell. I wanted to save you, I was going to. I stayed away because you never gave a damn -- it was always about Sora. In that moment, all that mattered was that you'd found _him_."

Kairi looked at him shocked. How could he even think that...?

"You were... I saw you when I woke up. That's who I saw!" She said.

His voice was bitter and she only then realized how badly he'd wanted to keep her safe. How badly he'd wanted to save her. How much the memory had hurt and how much she'd taken him for granted. "Does it really matter anymore?" He asked, looking her in the eyes one last time before walking away.

_Conspiratorial whispers and hushed conversations._

That's why... He and Sora...

_"Nothing's wrong Kai, we're just talking about something. You know, man talk." Sora joked._

She could only watch as he walked away, the picture of a long since broken relationship.

* * *


	11. strike me down

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#97. writer's choice - (strike me down)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Stuck in the secret place with Kairi.

The rain was falling in torrents, lightning was illuminating the unbelievably beautiful picture of their island, the thunder and the waves crashing rhythmically.

Wasn't this what he'd always wanted? Wasn't this the _chance_ he'd been waiting for?

Her hand was entwined with his and she was cuddled up against him.

Sora wasn't here...

Another crash of lightning had her trying to move closer to him and her shivering began once again.

"Kairi..." He began, but what was he supposed to say?

_I love you._

"I wanted to tell you this a long time ago..."

Another crash.

"I..."

"Sora?" Kairi interrupted and Riku didn't even need to raise his eyes to see the brunette standing in front of him. He could almost imagine his goofy smile -- sopping wet yet still smiling. Kairi stood and walked over to Sora.

"Let's get out of here you guys!" He exclaimed happily and the pair ran out into the pouring rain without him.

_Of course you're happy._

One more crash and a broken heart.

_Hell it hurts and I hate you for it._

* * *


	12. move on

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#48. growth - (move on)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I DID, all of us fangirls would own Riku.

* * *

Things could change so fast. One day you'd be talking in the middle of the night, comforting your broken other and the next you'd be completely alone. That broken other wouldn't be so broken anymore. They'd be whole.

While you were left behind. And you guessed it, _you_ were broken.

Yet, she couldn't blame him when he'd run off and found himself another. Another girl. She wasn't _his girl_ anymore, _she_ was. And yes, she hated how everything had so suddenly changed, but she should be happy for him, right?

He was happy, she was happy. That's how it always worked, always would.

'He's grown up. Doesn't need me anymore.'

She only wished she'd gotten past her obliviousness sooner. Maybe, just maybe, she'd be the one laying in his arms.

* * *


	13. one last feeling

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#33. cold - (one last feeling)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH -- Squeenix does. xP

* * *

"Riku!? God, Riku, I'm sorry!"

The screams were circling through his mind, untainted, untouched by any sound, any voice. The shrillness of it, the urgency, it was unsettling and a chill spread over and through his motionless body. He couldn't move, he could speak.

He couldn't comfort.

"Please, please... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

A tear, not his own, trailed down his cheek. It was warm and caused his skin to tingle pleasantly. Warmth. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. And as his body grew steadily colder and his limited vision became even more so and his hearing dimmed, he knew it would be the last thing he ever felt.

"Riku..."

One last whisper and blackness overtook him. Blackness... Darkness, in every sense.

* * *


	14. define love

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#o4. love - (define love)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings, etc. Square Enix & Disney do.

* * *

Define love. Can you even really do that, is there even such a way? Do a few odd descriptive words, strung together and placed onto a single page mean anything? I have my own definition a love. Beautiful red hair, so soft and striking under the sunlight. Sparkling stormy eyes you could just lose yourself in. Delightful laughter that fills your head and makes your skin tingle warmly...

That... That's love.

* * *


	15. break down & stand up

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#o3. secret - (break down & stand up)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings, etc. Square & Disney do.

* * *

It didn't matter, really, how many times she wondered about everything that had happened. It didn't matter how many times she tried to sort through all the events of their lives. The fact of the matter was, she was confused. She was beyond confused -- she simply didn't know what was going on anymore.

Ever since she first saw them… She could tell they were different. So much different.

Sora had almost lost all of his juvenile behaviour. He was much more serious now, especially about important issues. She could just vaguely remember the days when he shrugged it off, carelessly and effortlessly. She remembered those goofy smiles and that carefree laughter… And sure, it was still somewhere inside of him, but how often did she get to see it?

Riku… God, Riku was a disturbing case. He seemed so shut down… So lifeless. He smiled when he was around us, but it never reached his eyes, you know? She knew he never really _felt _it. She always did wonder, at first, why Sora never noticed.

But maybe he never noticed because he could understand.

She _can't_ understand.

She just wished he would just talk to her, like they used to. She felt a sense of abandonment. She knew it wasn't the case, he's still here for her and he's constantly watching over her.

She just want's him to be happy.

She wonders if she's the problem?

"Riku…?" She asked, walking over to him quietly. She was acutely aware of everything around them… The soft sand under their feet, the gently swaying palm tree's, the chirping birds and the beautiful sunset, bordered by sparkling water and crashing waves. She looked up at him and was entranced by what she saw.

He was no longer the young boy he was when he'd left. Standing here in the dim glow of the last rays of sunlight, he was so much more illuminated. She could see more of him.

He was a man now. His eyes, once playful and teasing, were aged. His features were sharper and his hair was longer, some of it covering his eyes. Subconsciously, she reached up and swept it out of his eyes. Only then did he look at her and when their eyes met, she gave him a tender and loving smile.

And he smiled back.

Just not convincingly.

There was something on his mind, again.

How much was she willing to bet that all this thinking he'd been doing was over the exact same issue?

"What are you doing out here, all alone?" Her voice had but a smidgen of a teasing edge, but she knew that her true intent was voiced and heard.

He didn't speak for many minutes. She knew he would though, so she waited patiently beside him.

"I… I'm just thinking."

She almost lost herself there. His voice was just so alluring. "Thinking about what?"

He glanced at her and smiled at her inquisitiveness. Hadn't she always been like that? It was good to know, he thought, that some things stayed the same. He could adapt to change, but there was already so much change happening. "A lot of things."

She narrowed her eyes at his answer. Wasn't going down without a fight? "Be specific?"

"Just everything." He dropped down onto the sand and she watched as his eyes seemed to dim a little -- how was that possible? They already seemed to be as emotionless as they could be!

Now, she knew he wasn't heartless or emotionless. But lately, he'd been giving off that _feel _of it.

"I'm here, you know, if you want to talk." She moved around in front of him and kneeled down on the sand. She made sure she had his attention before she continued. "You seem so… Distant." She took both of his hands into hers and squeezed them lightly, looking into his eyes. "I miss you, Riku. The old you. I know a lot's happened, but…"  
He sighed. "Kai…"

She didn't respond, just sat there quietly. Waiting. It was growing steadily darker, but she didn't take any notice of it. She would stay out here all night, if that's what it took. Wanting to do something with her hands rather than let go of his large and warm ones, she settled for just running her thumbs over his knuckles.

"I tried to save you… And I failed."

She never would realize how and why those words had such an effect on her.

"W-what!?" She stuttered with disbelief, staring at his now hung head. A few painstakingly slow seconds passed before she stood and used her foot to push him on his back.

Bewildered, Riku stared up at her in obvious shock. "Kair-"

"Don't 'Kairi' me!" She leaned over and jabbed her finger at his chest. "You did not fail me! How could you even think that?" She trailed off quietly.

"Sora did--"

"Yes, Sora did a lot Riku. But you came for me first didn't you? You helped him save me. You saved me yourself many times! I hate how it came down to my being saved. If anyone failed, it's me!"

His questioning gaze frustrated her to no end.

"You wouldn't be like this if it weren't for me!" She cried and she could feel the prick of tears in her eyes. How long had it been since she'd cried? Too long. She hadn't shed a tear once when they'd been gone and she hadn't afterwards.

Why now!?

"Kairi!"

Don't cry, she thought. Don't cry at all.

But as the guilt she'd pushed back came crashing down on her like free weights, her resolve further crumbled.

"God, if anyone's failed, it's me…" She repeated, sobbing.

He took firm hold of her chin and made her look at him. "Don't you dare. None of this is your fault. You didn't ask to be taken." His hand moved to cup her cheek and he wiped away her tears.

"I'm sorry." She said, pulling away and standing. She walked over to the shore and berated herself. Thoroughly. How could she cry!? Wasn't she here to help him.

Yet, that little voice in the back of her head was telling her that they weren't the only one's who needed help. Months of sadness and trying to make it through in one piece, one day at a time, returned to her with unbelievable clarity.

How many times had she denied herself that pleasure to just _cry_?

"Sorry for what?" He asked harshly, having made his own way over to the shore. "You have done, nothing wrong. Nothing." He said while spinning her around to face him.

A rush of anger flew through her. "Well if _I've_ done nothing, neither have you! So why are you doing this to yourself? To me?"

His eyes became unfocused and he looked over her head, which, she noticed, was not at all difficult for him to do now. "I've done things I'm not proud of."

"We all have."

"Not like me."

"Riku!" She threw her hands up in exasperation. "Why won't you talk to me!?"

Silence. Then, "I just don't want you to think of me… Differently."

Her face softened and hugged him tightly. "That could never happen." She soared when the hug was returned, albeit a little more tightly.

And so he told her. Everything. How he'd gone to Melificent's side, how the darkness had taken over and he'd fought Sora to kill, how he had taken up residence with Mickey for a while and how he'd turned into Ansem. Every little thing in between.

The sat in a strangely comfortable silence afterwards. Strange, according to Riku. He was waiting for Kairi to just stand and walk away, never looking back.

Instead she hugged him once more. He hugged back fiercely, secretly scared of his losing her at any second. There was no relief until he'd heard her next words. "You thought that I would think of you _differently_? You idiot!" Her voice was muffled by his shoulder but Riku could tell she was on the verge of crying.

Sure enough, when she lifted her head and pulled away to sit just in front of him, she was smiling tearfully. "I love you; always have, always will."

Riku just sat there for a minute, looking like he was fighting an internal battle, his eyes searching her own. She was beginning to feel that thing again, the fluttering in her stomach, that light-headedness. She was aware of the fact that both his legs were on either side of her own and they sat so close together she could smell that intoxicating cologne wafting off of him, teasing her.

Before she knew what was happening, his hand was at her waist, caressing the skin there and his other hand was held against her cheek, so pleasantly soft a touch. His thumb was gently rubbing her lower lip and his eyes were filled with passion and desire.

How had they gotten here?

She couldn't say she cared.

"I love you, too…" He whispered, before his lips descended upon hers and that sweet oblivion took her.

It seemed like forever had passed before he suddenly pulled away very slightly, grinning against her lips. "But I think I might love Mickey just a little more."

A laugh escaped her and she looked at him and saw _him_. She saw _Riku_. "What do you mean, you might love him more!?" She moved to tickle him…

…But he got there first.

She was knocked onto her back as her sides were assaulted by her hands. Gasping for breath and laughing, she tried to push his hands away. "Haha -- Riku! Stop!" It went on for a couple seconds longer before he backed away a little and fell onto his stomach beside her.

She rolled over, grinning like an idiot and punched him in the arm playfully. He let her. "That was," she gasped. "Not funny."

She burst out laughing all the same.

He soon joined her.

She couldn't even begin to describe the happiness she was feeling.

They laid there for a long time, staring up at the sky and sharing anything and everything they could. The time mattered nothing to them.

Eventually though, Riku noticed Kairi's slight shivering.

He groaned and lay his arm over her stomach, pulling her closer to him. She curled into his side, wearing an unseen smile; a very ridiculously happy smile. She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to stop feeling this way again!

"You're cold." He stated. She rolled her eyes and merely snuggled in closer to him. "And you're tired, it seems." He chuckled.

"I don't care…"

"Well. I do." He said, standing. He took her hands and pulled her up beside him. She sighed unhappily at the loss of warmth and let him pull her to her feet without complaint.

"So…" She said, entirely too cheeky. "What did you and Mickey do that we don't know about…?"

Riku laughed and looked down at her when she slipped her hand into his and wrapped her arm around his to keep him close to her. "You don't want to know. Really. It's too much for your innocent mind to handle."

Their laughter and frolicking echoed across the island and things suddenly began looking much brighter.

_No matter who you are or what you've done, I'll always love you…_

* * *


	16. sweet malfunction

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#38. ice cream - (sweet malfunction)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. Square & Disney do.

* * *

"Thanks, Riku."

A grunt of acknowledgement was all she got from him, as he was halfway through licking his own cone of ice cream.

"Strawberry's still better." Kairi smiled, licking her ice cream and moaning over how great it is.

Amusement flashed in his eyes. "'Cept not."

"Keep telling yourself that." Kairi said and with a swish of her hair she was walking away, off to the docks to where their boats were tied. They'd decided upon grabbing some ice cream from town -- today was going to be one of those exceptionally hot days -- and then they'd head off to the island together.

"Hey, Kairi?" Riku asked from right beside her and she froze -- not because of how he could catch up with her so quickly, but because she could hear that little hint of something in his voice. Something that probably wasn't so great for her.

Reluctantly, she turned to face him.

And was met with ice cream.

Her mouth flew open in shock.

Riku threw his head back and howled with laughter.

She brought her hand up to her face and wiped some of the now wasted mint chocolate ice cream away from her eyes. "I cannot believe… You just did that."

"I could lick it off for you." He winked suggestively.

"No!"

"Okay, okay! Maybe you should go and wash it off in the water then?" He made a move to grab her and she quickly assumed it was to throw her in the water She made a split second decision to return the favour.

Riku's faced coated in pink was something she did not think would be as funny as it was now that it had actually happened. "I guess you'll have to join me!" She managed while laughing and dove -- or fell, really -- into the water.

"If you say so!"

* * *

_AN: Awz0rs. And a double update! Chp. 15 & 16 in one day. You lucky people. XD_

_Well, if they were good enough, anyway. _

_The first idea, I'll admit, is kind of cliche and predictable you could say. But I've wanted to write that for a very long time. I can't even begin to tell you. It's always been in the back of my mind and, well... Why put it off any longer? Especially since I've just thrown myself back into the Riku & Kairi craze! So, one 2000 word update._

_As for this one... Gah! Couldn't resist! Thought of it while I was laying in bed last night. Too cute_♥

_Thanks to my reviewers and readers -- still loving you. For those of you who don't review... Well, shame shame, eh? Drop me a comment! _

_Til' next time. _


	17. midnight stroll

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#93. spirit - (midnight stroll)_

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts or its sequel. Square does. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

It wasn't the faintly rustling leaves or the startlingly cold wind that made her stomach coil in some amount of fear. It wasn't even the dark shadows that followed her wherever she walked. It was the fact that someone could be outside _with_ her. Someone being those shady characters you learned about or heard about from other people at school.

Even though Riku was with her and she knew he would never let anything happen to her, it was lurking in the back of her mind.

Why did Riku even _want_ to take a stroll out here, at this time of the night!? she wondered silently. She cast her eyes on him, looking away after he failed to notice her questioning gaze.

She never had questioned him on it. He just asked, from time to time and it seemed to make him happy so she went along with it. Sorting out his thoughts maybe? Yes, sure. He always did seem so... Solemn on their daily midnight walks.

Tonight however, was a different story. He seemed ready to jump in the air and start acting like a hooligan. He kept sending fleeting glances her way and, while fleeting, his eyes were filled with mischief and excitement. That was something she'd rather avoid when it came to Riku. Not that she didn't want to see him having fun and enjoying himself, but knowing the nature of his attitude she was acutely aware that this something he was thinking about was probably not going to amuse her.

In the end, she let it slide from her mind.

Oh well.

"So." Her lone word sliced through the silence surrounding them and he looked down at her. She realized she was shivering -- it was so cold! -- and she quickly wrapped her arm around his, burying herself into his side as much as she could without deterring their steps. He smiled and repeated her word almost cheekily.

Hm...

"So, where are we going _this_ time?"

He smirked. The other times they'd been out, he'd lead her to the island and the docks. One time, he just lead her all over the two islands. Right now, they were walking around the area they lived -- between houses, down alleyways...

Was it so surprising she'd been scared a few moments ago?

And now, that she remembered?

"Why would I tell you?"

"Because... You're generally a nice person?"

"Generally!"

She stuck her tongue out at him and laid her head against his arm. She couldn't quite reach his shoulder, she noticed.

"Cold?" He asked and she saw him frown.

"I'm fine! You know, even though you take me for a stroll at midnight and you don't even let me change out of my pajama's." She smiled sweetly, mocking him. But it was true -- she was walking around, outside, at midnight, in her tank top and plaid baggy (comfortable!) PJ pants.

He smiled sweetly back, clearly teasing. "Not a problem."

She smacked him on the arm playfully and let go of his arm. As she stalked away from him, he stopped moving. She turned to face him then, hands on her hips and her head cocked slightly. "Thinking of going back?" She hid the whine in her voice flawlessly -- her skin was absolutely crawling. Her head was filled with all sorts of scenario's imaginable.

_All_.

"You wish."

Jeez, he sure knew how to bring someone back to reality.

"So, guess what Kai?" He asked.

"What?

"We're here."

She blinked. Turning to look behind her, she saw the school. Hardly visible in the darkness, the very large building looked ominous to her at that moment. With shadows reflecting off the windows illuminated by moonlight and the different buildings placed all around them she was rather...

Disconcerted.

"Riku... Why are we here, at the school? You _were_ the one trying to get away as fast as possible today, right?"

"Perhaps."

She knew it.

A grin spread across his face as he walked near her. That mischievous twinkle in his eyes was ever present as well.

She put her hands up in front of her and backed away with every step he took. "Riku, whatever you're planning, don't you _dare_!" Her last word was a scream as he grabbed her and jumped right up onto the highest roof of the building. He set her down with expert haste before he skillfully back-flipped off the building and onto the ground, into the darkness that was taunting her from below.

Needless to say, she hung on for dear life.

If there was something Kairi hated -- more then walking around outside with imagery in her head that clearly shouldn't have been there -- it was heights. Riku damn well knew it too.

"Riku! I hope you know I hate you right now!" She could barely see, but she knew she was sitting near the edge of the roof. There was nothing below her to the front of her but concrete or grass. Behind her, the roof sloped upwards, joining with the other side, but Kairi was hardly going to attempt climbing up it.

"_Right now_. Key words." He shot back, smug.

"Forever."

"Ha."

"Riku!"

"Kairi!"

"Why!?"

"I felt... Adventurous tonight." There was a shuffling of his clothing and then silence once more. He'd flattened a couple hundred of blades of grass that moment.

She narrowed her eyes and wondered if he could see her eyes clearly in the dark. He probably could. Smug bastard, she thought. She even almost said it aloud, but held back for fear of giving her older friend a heart attack.

"Enjoying yourself?"

She smiled.

Enjoying myself? Okay. We'll see how you enjoy_ this_, she thought.

All thoughts she had, heights or otherwise, were banished in that instant. In an act of utter defiance, she stood, wobbly. She caught herself and without a second thought, she jumped off the roof.

She didn't scream.

And she didn't feel frightened.

It was just one huge exhilarating breath of fresh air.

She giggled and laughed mercilessly when she fell into his arms -- right where she knew she'd fall -- and heard his sharp intake of breath. If it had been Sora, she knew she'd be getting a lecture, but Riku... Riku was much more free and relenting. He was much more fun, she admitted.

Still. She knew he was miffed because of what she'd just done.

She didn't care.

She just laughed.

"Kairi..." He growled, but she paid him no heed.

So he fell down onto the ground and she sat on his lap, hunched over in a fit of hysteria, for a few minutes before she regained herself. She grinned at his disapproving scowl and asked, "enjoying yourself?"

Mirth shot through him and the tension left his body. "Only if you are."

"Well, I am."

"Ah."

They just stared at each other for a moment then, until Kairi noticed the stars and left him to his own devices while she daydreamed about something of other. Eventually, he heard her breathing even out and looking over, saw her sleeping peacefully. He brushed her hair back from her face lightly and smiled happily.

At least one of us has some spirit, he thought.

Picking her up as quietly and as gently as he could, he began to walk back to her house.

When she woke up in the morning, she wouldn't be alone. Exhausted from the day but entirely happy from what had transpired, he fell asleep beside her, wonderfully blissful for having gained that moment he'd been wanting with her for a long time.

* * *


	18. here I'll wait

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#75. hurt - (here I'll wait)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Nothing she tried could wash away the hurt and the pain that was so much more physical than emotional. Eventually, she gave up on trying to douse her emotions with fake happiness, bright music and beautiful scenery. She, eventually, forgot how to let it all go and it caught up with her quickly.

Now, she lay on her bed, tears spilling from her eyes and she wondered both internally and aloud, "why us?"

Why me?

There was a void inside of her now that she could feel with such amazingly reality that she was actually feeling _pain_.

Her head buzzed and her body felt entirely too weak to still be allowing her to live and breathe and every thought and movement cost her.

She wondered, idly, if she would ever get to see him again. If he cared enough to make his presence known to her.

At this rate, she thought, she'd be gone before either got the chance.

And maybe, she thought, that wasn't so bad.

* * *


	19. an odd day

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#98. writer's choice - (an odd day)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

That damned clock.

It just kept _ticking away_.

Kairi kept her eyes on the paper in front of her, doodling lazily and wishing for the clock to speed up by about five minutes -- then she'd finally be out of class. School, rather. She tried to ignore the pain in her foot, though that alone was hard enough. It felt numb, as she'd tried not to move it at all due to the intense pain flare that would commence if she did and it was, quite simply, _annoying her_.

"Kairi!?" A hiss came from beside her. She looked up and over to the side of her for the source of the voice.

Selphie. She was waving a paper at her furiously and Kairi had to roll her eyes. Sometimes Selphie was quite immature -- but then they _were_ fifteen. She guessed it was just because of her experiences of the past years with her two boys and how... It had made her grow up a bit faster, if that made any sense. She smiled at the inane thought -- _her_ boys.

She took the paper swiftly, without letting the teacher see the exchange. Laying it out in front of her, she quickly read over the words scribbled messily on the paper. 'So... Want to do something after school today? Shopping, go out for a coffee...?'

Kairi's mood was severely dampened when she looked over at Selphie and saw the pleading eyes staring at her. She felt incredibly guilty for how she had been treating Selphie lately. Ever since Sora and Riku had returned, she'd been so caught up in talking with them and getting every possible moment she could in with them. What could she say? She'd missed them terribly. Regardless, now that she was cornered, she didn't want to break Selphie's hopes and she most certainly didn't want Selphie thinking she didn't want to be around her quirky best friend. She didn't want to lose another friend.

Picking up her pencil once more, she scrawled a note back, just as messily; 'sure Selph. But not right after school, okay? A little later on. Meet on the island docks?'

She passed the paper back, this time only narrowly avoiding being caught. Watching her friend's eyes race across the sheet, Kairi was delighted when Selphie's eyes lit up in excitement and she nodded at Kairi, tucking the paper away into her notebook.

Her heart lightened.

And then she moved her foot.

But then, the bell rang, signaling the end to a long day.

She pushed herself up, taking care not to further injure her foot and began to (limp) walk towards the door, books and notes in hand. She waved to the teacher, who waved back, though distractedly and found herself standing at the door watching a scene play out.

"Screw you."

"I didn't _do_ anything."

"Yeah, alright."

She blinked and propped herself up against the door arch.

That, of course, seemed to break both Sora and Riku out of their argument. They both looked at her, eyes narrowed at her while glancing down at her foot. Simultaneously, they asked her what was wrong. Things like that would have freaked her out if she didn't know that they'd been together almost every minute of their lives. She smiled, bemused.

"Twisted my ankle."

"Who did it?" They both asked rapidly.

She laughed aloud. "Guys, come on, its not unheard of to twist your own ankle."

Then again, it wasn't exactly weird to think someone else might've caused her to twist her ankle -- at this school... People were nasty to her. Ever since she'd been found on the shores of Destiny Island, Riku and Sora had basically devoted themselves to her and each other, letting hardly anyone else in and that seemed too much for some people to handle. So, in turn, they ended up disliking her for whatever reason. The few people like Selphie, Tidus and Wakka were who the threesome associated with, but they otherwise stuck to themselves.

Riku was an insanely popular guy at the school. Girls were always trying to get his attention and the guys were always trying to recruit him into sports teams, clubs, you name it. He merely said he wasn't interested -- Riku applied himself to nothing at school but his work, which all worked out quite well for him. He was, so named, the smartest kid at their school and he said 'he didn't need anything else to raise him above everyone else'.

Showoff.

As for Sora, well... He was just the kid everyone had always known. He was a likable boy.

"Well." Sora started, breaking her from her thoughts. "If you're not lying..."

She shook her head, smiling. "I'm really not."

And so, she was limping down the hallway with Riku and Sora on either side of her, her arms placed on their shoulders and their arms placed around her waist.

It was of course, not necessary, which she told them. But they, as usual, did not listen.

God, the glares she received from the remaining stragglers inside the building.

"Sora!" Someone called out when they were just passing the gym. Sora looked blindly around before he saw the arms outstretched towards him. He quickly untangled himself from his two friends and made an attempt to run, but he failed. Arms wrapped around his own, his hands, his chest, he was pulled backwards into the gym by Wakka, Tidus and a few other blitzball players.

"You haven't played in forever, man!"

"Yeah, come on. We get the gym for a few hours today."

"No!" Sora yelled, trying to break away. For some reason, he always declined their invitations to play the game now. Kairi figured it was because he -- along with Riku -- were scared of what they might possibly do. Their strength had increased by a lot over the past two years. Hurting one of their friends was not on their lists of 'things to do'. "Riku! Kairi! Don't let them do this!" He was cut off by the slamming of the gym doors and he was seen no more by the silver haired male and the red haired female.

Kairi giggled and placed her hand back on Riku's shoulder. "Jeez. I'd say he looked quite eager to play."

"I gotta agree." Riku replied, grinning. He lead them out the doors and onto the patio in front of the school. Kairi asked, quite nicely, to just sit outside on one of the benches. Riku reluctantly agreed (he was ready to leave the campus for the weekend) and they sat for a while, just enjoying the sounds and scenery around them. One thing that wasn't hard to get used to was the beautiful light and the lush flowers and trees that surrounded the island. It was all just so tropical and peaceful.

"So... What are you planning on doing tonight?" Kairi asked Riku after a fair amount of silence.

He just shrugged, looking up into the sky. "I don't know. What is there to do?" He asked, glancing at her. He was right though -- the one downfall was that there was only so much you could do on the island. Sure, it had the malls, the stores, the parks and trails and you always had whatever you had at home, but staying outside was much more pleasurable. Going to the mall everyday of every week did get boring.

She spoke from experience. Riku felt no different.

"Well, I'm going to hang out with Selphie tonight. I couldn't tell you what we were doing, though." She added absently, following a butterfly with her eyes.

"In your condition?"

"Condition?"

"Got to be pretty hard walking around with only one leg."

She sent a glare his way and he smirked. "Just pointing it out."

"Of course--" She broke off when a group of girls, who were all one year older than Kairi but in most of Riku's classes, stopped short in front of them after walking through the glass doors of the school. They'd probably been watching the guys play blitzball; why they would, Kairi didn't know, but it made her want to gag. Some people in this school were here for reasons other than learning.

These particular girls dedicated themselves to trying to make Kairi's life a living hell.

When the boys weren't with her, of course.

Riku didn't look all too interested though, when their eyes found their way to him after first regarding Kairi with mutual distaste.

"Hey Riku." The first girl began -- the leader of the pack, as Kairi so liked to call them, spoke first. Trisha; bleached blond hair, blue eyes, skimpy outfit... It never failed. She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger in what Kairi guessed was supposed to be flirtatious. She nearly snorted aloud at her daring to even try. It never worked.

"Trisha." He said, looking up at her. Finally.

"We were wondering," she said, with that fake voice that made Kairi tingle with disgust. "If you'd like to come to a party tonight at Jake's house. There's going to be a lot of people there -- and drinks too." She said, smiling. She turned her eyes on me for a second. "You could bring Sora, if you like."

Unable to stand any more of the conversation, she stood a bit shakily and turned to Riku. "I'll just wait over there, alright?"

He shook his head and stood. "No need." Then, he did something she didn't really expect. He picked her up, bridal style. She knew why about a second later, maybe less. Trisha's eyes filled with something akin to hatred and jealousy, which was obviously meant for her. Kairi couldn't contain her smug grin. Trisha flipped her hair and waited for Riku to turn his attention back on her.

Ha.

"I'm busy tonight, but thanks anyway." He quipped, turning and walking away without even bothering to wait for the girl to speak.

When we'd -- well, he'd -- walked out of earshot of the girls, Kairi laughed aloud. "You're so bad, Riku."

"Yeah, yeah. They deserve no less."

She frowned. "You know, if it's about me--"

"Well, it is. They have no right to treat you like that. They have no right to treat anybody like that."

"Well, alright, I do agree with that, but you never do go out with people your own age. I mean, I know I'm only a year younger and all, but you never seem to hang out with people you might know that are in your own grade. You've never been to a party, I mean... Why?"

"I'm just really not interested. I'm not sure I want to know what they do at their so-called parties."

She smiled and swung her legs a bit. "You know, you can put me down now."

He pouted at me. "But Kairi, I thought you loved me."

She chuckled. "What? Did I say I didn't?"

"I could just tell."

"Oh, you could, could you?"

"Uh huh."

She heard something then, right after he said that. She listened more intently, though she had the thought run through her head that perhaps it was just a bird rustling in the thick trees we were now walking slowly by. But then she heard it again. "Wait, Riku, stop walking."

"Huh?" He asked, but he still halted his movement.

"Put me down for a sec." She said. "No, really." She added at his look.

He lowered his arm and let her slide down, though he made sure she went down softly so she didn't jar her foot. She walked towards the edge of the tree and leaned down. When she couldn't see anything, she went down on her hands and knees, bringing her head down almost level with the sidewalk.

Riku laughed behind her. "Kairi, what are you doing?"

"Shut up, Riku. I heard something."

"A bird, maybe? They do live in trees you know."

"Please."

Then, finally when she was about to give it up, she heard it again.

A sniffle.

She moved closer in the direction the noise came from. Shoes. Her eyes widened a bit. "Um, hello?"

The shoes shuffled a bit, a hurried and nervous movement.

Riku sighed. "Talking to the dirt..."

"Hello?" She repeated and this time, knees impacted with the soil under the tree and a little head with big innocent eyes was looking out from underneath it straight at her. She couldn't see him too clearly in the darkened area under the brush and she couldn't move very much closer -- there was a creek that was quite a bit large for a kid of his age (that I assumed was about 4) to have crossed. "Hey, what are you doing under there?"

His lips were visibly trembling. "My mommy's gone..."

Kairi's eyes softened a bit. Riku leaned down beside her and that was when the kid jerked away. Kairi giggled softly. "Riku, don't scare the kid."

"I didn't even do anything." He said, shooting me a look.

"Well, obviously just looking at him was enough." She remarked. Then, she looked back at the boy. "Hey, come on out and we'll find your mum."

The kid shook his head after a moment's hesitation. "I'll... I'll fall in the creek. It's so big..."

Kairi looked puzzled then. "Well, how'd you get over the first time?" Despite her question, she moved to put one leg on the other end of the bank and leaned over to grab him. Riku's intake of breath and hand on her waist and elbow reminded her of her ankle. She didn't feel any pain though, so she assumed that was a good thing. The kid grabbed hold of her arm, maybe a little too tightly, but she lifted him over the water to stand beside Riku, who he immediately shied away from. It was probably his hair and how it was covering his eyes, she thought. Riku helped her back over and she stood heavily on her right foot, looking down at the child.

"How long were you over there for?" She asked kindly.

He shook his head and looked around, tears brimming his eyes. "I want my mama..." He began to cry and she could feel Riku tense up beside her. She held in her laughter and leaned down to the boy's eye level. She titled her head and ruffled his hair playfully, trying to get him to lighten up.

"Let's go find her then. Can you point her out to me?" Kairi asked.

He nodded slowly and latched onto her hand, looking this way and that for his mother. She guided him along the sidewalk -- and found the elementary school to be sitting right there once the trees cleared. A play school was built right beside it and Kairi assumed it was there he went to school right now (if at all). So they walked there quietly, Riku once again helping her walk.

"That's where I play with the other kids..." He drawled.

"Oh yeah? That's pretty neat." She responded cheerfully. "What do you and your friends do there?" She asked.

He launched into a long story of all the great things he and the others did every day -- with the teacher's permission of course.

"Wow, sounds pretty exciting!"

"Yeah." He smiled up at her, a big heart-warming smile.

She looked over at Riku and found him staring at her curiously. She blushed and looked away.

"Mama!" The kid cried out crazily, letting go of Kairi and running over to a woman standing with a stroller. Kairi jutted her elbow into Riku's ribs when she tried to follow him to make sure he was right in his exclamation, though she was pretty sure he was, and he didn't start walking with her. He mumbled a distracted apology and they both started moving again. The kid was pointing at them excitedly and his mother was looking at them gratefully.

"Thank you, you two. So much. He just ran off. So hard to keep track of them."

Kairi smiled back. "Oh, no problem. All in a days work."

The kid ran up to Kairi and gave her a huge hug. Pulling back, he said shyly and quietly, "thanks pretty lady."

Kairi giggled and ruffled his hair for the second time. "No problem. But no more running off, right?" She smiled. They parted ways and Riku began to, once more, lug Kairi along. They were silent for a minute, but Kairi could see Riku smirking and knew he was just bursting to say something.

"...Riku? What is it?"

"I'll bet that's the greatest compliment you've ever gotten, right?"

Kairi punched him in the arm. "Jeez, thanks Riku. You're so kind."

"No, no, I'm sorry." He laughed -- a sure sign that he wasn't. "I just..." He trailed off and looked down at the ground. "You're good with kids you know? You're going to be a great mother one day?"

To say she was touched would be an understatement.

"Aww, thanks Riku." She said sweetly.

He scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. "Yeah... You had a cute moment there for a second."

Her heart fluttered a bit at that. "Why the sudden shower of compliments?" A valid question. These kinds of things from Riku were rare and she was undeniably sickeningly flattered.

"Just a bit of the truth, for once."

"Oh, so you _lie_ to me most of the time?" She joked.

He shook his head with mirth. They'd finally reached her house now and they were standing just outside her door. "No, but..." He looked at her sideways. "I never seem to tell you enough about how great you are."

"Riku, come on."

"No, really."

"You're just being _silly_."

He merely smiled at her. "Sure." He leaned down and pecked her on the cheek, only to lean down and whisper something in her ear. "He was right, you know. Pretty lady."

And he left her, standing in front of her door, his hot breath lingering on her neck as her skin became hypersensitive. Dazed, she smiled and touched her cheek.

"What a crazy guy." She said to herself, turning and walking into her house.

Crazy? Quite possibly.

Totally lovable and cutely overprotective?

Definitely.

* * *


	20. overtired

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#95. consequence - (overtired)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Riku was on the receiving end of one important lesson that night that he and Sora returned home. Kairi, excited and happy that it was finally over, proposed staying over at Sora's house (his parents were both working full night shifts) and celebrating.

Sora fell asleep after a couple hours.

Riku wished. Completely.

He wished he could follow Sora's example, but he was saddened to find that Kairi giggling non-stop on Sora's bed proved to be a distraction.

She was, at the current moment, holding a water bottle in her hands and tipping it this way and that with a frown plastered on her face. "How... Am I supposed to see the top of the water!?" She asked from her position of laying down. "Everytime I tip it it moves with it!"

Riku groaned.

Unbelievable.

This wouldn't be happening again.

* * *


	21. you wanted to remember

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#16. time - (you wanted to remember)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its settings, characters, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"You said, once, you wanted to remember." A greying Kairi said softly, tears brimming in her eyes.

Riku looked down at her, his eyes emotionless, his face expressionless, before he quickly looked away. It had been such a long time -- and he'd been doing fine, finally. Why she felt the need to suddenly do this, she couldn't explain, but she wanted to see if she could grasp something of the old Riku and keep it close to her.

They'd lived young together, they'd grown old together. They'd been through a lot.

And then she lost him.

His memories.

His soul.

Holding her hand up to his cheek, she saw him flinch a little at the contact, but he focused on her again. "Look," she whispered, placing something in his outstretched hand resting on the chair's arm. He looked down at the object she'd placed there and brought it up to his face to examine it more closely. She waited with bated breath for a reaction.

Nothing.

Her heart fell to her toes and she shut her eyes, tired and exasperated.

"Kairi?" He said, breaking the despair-filled silence. His voice was rough, as though he hadn't spoken in months -- and the truth was, he hadn't.

Her head snapped up and their eyes met. She saw it then, a flicker of something deep in his glowing eyes; recognition.

Her eyes brimmed with tears for the second time in minutes and one began to make their way down her cheek. He lifted his hand, unused for so long and gently wiped it away.

It fell back to its original resting place, his limb already drained of energy.

And then, as quickly as it was there, it was gone.

Such is the woe of time.

But it was all she'd needed.

* * *


	22. take me away

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#39. stress - (take me away)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Square Enix and Disney do, I'm simply using their characters to satisfy our needs. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

The music was loud and certainly not something she would've listened to willingly. Everyone was dancing happily, swinging around without a care in the world and enjoying themselves. All this was fine and dandy and Kairi liked to see everyone having a good time, but she really didn't want to be here. She wanted to be outside right now, away from the voices and the stuffy air. She spied Sora and smiled at the sight of him dancing with a very hyper Selphie -- without a look of sheer terror on his face. A rare sight.

Moving forward, she tried to navigate through the crowd towards the door, all the while glancing around her, trying to find a particular silver-haired individual, whom she knew hadn't even wanted to come at all tonight, but had for her sake. He'd wandered off after about twenty minutes of chatting up all of their friends and she hadn't seen him since. Maybe he'd join her outside...

"Looking for someone?" A smooth male voice asked from right behind her. She jumped at the closeness and turned to meet aqua eyes, watching her mischievously.

"You're the man." She replied, winking. He grinned back at her.

"Well, the school dance sure is a hit." Riku mused, casually looking over the large group of students; nobody had expected such a nice turnout.

"Yeah." She sighed. At Riku's questioning glance she smiled. "Take me away?"

Laughing he nodded. "Not your thing?"

She shook her head. "Parties are fine, but tonight I just don't feel like being a part of it." Linking her arm with his, she followed as he led her out the entranceway and into the quickly descending night. The cool breeze that had started up during their time inside the school was a welcome change from the suffocating warmth and Kairi closed her eyes happily, still being led off somewhere by Riku.

Somehow they made it to the dock and set off for the much smaller but more entertaining island. Upon reaching it, Riku jumped out of the boat and held his hand out to help her up. Taking it, she was unprepared to be pulled quickly forward and slung over his shoulder. "Uh... Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"What are--" She was cut off when he threw her outward and she fell into the water with a splash.

When she broke the surface he was laughing and dived into the water beside her. "Well, that effectively ruined my dress." She said aloud, watching Riku tread water farther out; he was a fast swimmer.

"I know what you're wearing underneath it."

"That sounds really bad, you know." She chuckled, trying to get the aforementioned piece of clothing over her head. Riku, somehow, had in the span of time she'd been thrown into and stayed under the water, stripped himself down to his swimming trunks and had strewn his dry clothing across the sand. "And that's so not the point."

"Yeah, well. You could say the same, I'm sure."

"Yeah. I could." She affirmed, making her way out towards him, trying to get herself used to the temperature of the water.

"So..." Riku trailed off. "Why weren't you dancing with anyone?"

Kairi sighed. "Just didn't feel like it."

"Why?"

"I have no clue. I'm just really tired."

He gave her a look.

"This is making me feel a lot better though. I think it was just how much was going on at once in the school, all the voices and stuff." She answered lamely, knowing he wouldn't believe her excuse.

Riku dropped down under the water and swam closer to her, surfacing only when he was just in front of her. "Anything you want to tell me?" He asked, sounding almost accusing, but she knew he was only asking because he cared. She fell backwards into the water, keeping only a bit of her body afloat as she lay on her back.

"I don't know. I guess I'm kinda stressed, but I can't figure out why." She admitted, looking at him guiltily.

"Well, nothing wrong with that. Everyone gets stressed, Kai, so don't look at me like that." He smiled. She smiled back halfheartedly and started making her way back to shore, feeling worse than before, not to mention a little bit isolated. Riku followed silently and sighed when she picked up his shirt that was clearly too big for her and put it on.

"What? You got my dress wet!"

"Well, yeah, but it's cold."

"Are you saying you'd let me freeze out here?" She joked.

"Maybe..."

"Riku!"

"Okay, okay, I'm just kidding!" He laughed.

She sat herself down on the sand and laid back, looking up at the now dark sky, lit only by twinkling stars. Riku laid himself down beside her, putting his hands behind his head and Kairi moved over so her head was laying on his chest and her arms were wrapped around him. "There, better you big baby?"

"Nope. It's just so cold. I'll die of hypothermia or something."

She sighed. "You make me feel so much better."

"I know."

"I was being serious."

"I know."

* * *


	23. you wish

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#21. colour - (you wish)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Square Enix and Disney do, I'm simply using their characters to satisfy our needs. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"You wish you had this." Kairi exclaimed, walking over to Riku and laying her head on his. Her hair cascaded around his own and they looked into the mirror of her vanity desk he was sitting at while waiting for her to get ready to go out to the island. "Riku with my beautiful hair colour--"

"Riku with his wonderfully silver hair." He interfered, knowing she would go on and on about how great her hair was if he didn't stop her.

"You secretly wish, Riku. I can see it in your eyes."

"Oh yes. I wish. I _do_."

* * *


	24. I'm here

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#91. pain - (I'm here)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Square Enix and Disney do, I'm simply using their characters to satisfy our needs. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"I can't do this."

"Yes, you can."

"No, I really can't Riku, I can't! Why did I let you talk me into this. Oh my god, oh my god..."

Riku rolled his eyes and looked down at her as she was stretched out on her stomach on the tattooing table. Somehow, by a miracle, he'd managed to get her to agree to coming and finally getting one. She'd always talked about having one and wanting one and he figured she might as well -- he'd gone first, simply for reassurance on her part, but she was doubting her decision now.

"I'm not as strong as you, you jerk." Kairi glared.

"I'm not as tiny as you, sweetheart."

"What does that have to do with anything?" She asked, suspicious of his comment.

His mind raced to come up with something plausible for her to believe. "I've heard that people who are smaller -- leaner, I guess -- have a better time with things like this."

"Are you trying to make me feel better?" She accused, not looking very convinced.

He crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes for what seemed like the millionth time. "No, I'm trying to make you feel _worse_. Kai, come on, I'm here, what more do you need?" He smiled cheekily.

"It's going to hurt."

"Yes, it probably will."

"I'm going to cry."

"Well, if you do, we can always remedy that."

"Riku..."

"Kairi..."

"Are we all set? You sure you wanna do this?" The burly man that was going to be modifying her body walked in, looking back and forth between his two customers. He motioned towards the calm teen leaning against the wall. "You seem to be taking that tattoo well. Most people ain't able to do what you're doing."

Riku merely shrugged and looked down at Kairi, who was lost in thought -- probably deciding on whether she wanted to do it or not. "Kai?"

She looked up at him, uncertain. "Well..." A few moments passed, but eventually she sighed in defeat. "Okay, okay. But you have to come and sit here in front of me."

Riku nodded and moved to sit down in front of her. The tattoo man -- otherwise know as Jake under closer inspection -- went to wash his hands thoroughly and snap on sterile white gloves. He began to wash her lower back off and Kairi tensed, even though nothing was happening yet.

Riku, wanting to distract her, started talking about what her tattoo meant to some people. "You know that some people call the tattoo you're getting the 'tramp stamp'?"

Kairi glared at him. "Are you saying you're going to think I'm a tramp when this is done?"

"Maybee..." He drawled, chuckling at the look she sent him. "Yeah, yeah, no, of course not. You're no tramp."

"Good."

"What, did you think you were?"

"Shut up, Riku."

"You've been told, man." Jake laughed, taking out the mechanical device that would aid him in his task.

"The demon needle." Riku said, knowing Kairi would've thought of a name for it along those lines -- and also because he wanted to warn her that it was about to begin.

"Oh my god, Riku." Kairi breathed, holding out her hands. He slipped his into hers and she brought them up to cover her face. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"You're sure, right?" Jake asked, his last question before he set to work.

"God, I guess so. Yes. Okay."

And so it begun. Riku's hands were still covering Kairi's face, by her will and not his and as the needles began to make contact with and break into the skin, she made no move or sound. A little concerned, he tried to pull his hands away but she tightened her grip. "Kai?"

"Yeah?" She breathed unsteadily.

"You okay?"

Silence.

He sighed and managed to pry his hands (and hers) away from her face and was surprised to find tears trailing down her face. She was completely silent throughout it though. "I don't regret it, really. It just hurts." She said, answering his unspoken question.

"It'll be over soon." He said, rubbing her hands in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. "I could always really make you forget about the pain." He grinned.

"Oh? And how would you do that?" She asked, mustering up enough of herself for a glare.

Thought and pain fled her mind when he kissed her; and god, was it a great distraction...

Laughter came from behind her. "I wish I had a woman waiting on me when I got my tattoo's."

"I'll bet." Riku assented, breaking away.

Kairi, wide-eyed, looked at her best friend. "Wha--!? What was that?" She sputtered, at a loss for words.

Riku smirked.

"Took your mind off it, didn't it?"

* * *


	25. drowning

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#40. music - (drowning)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Square Enix and Disney do, I'm simply using their characters to satisfy our needs. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

If nothing else, Riku had his music. He could drown in it, let it wash away all of his frustration, his anger, his grief and his worry about anything that was happening around him. The lyrics spoke to him like nothing else could, made him feel as though he wasn't alone and could relate with somebody out there about his sorry excuse for a life. Nothing seemed to go right for him. Nothing. And listening to the words that were pounding in his ears and circulating through his mind, he felt much more at ease.

He wasn't alone.

He wasn't alone in this world and he never would be; even though with the people around him close at hand, he felt so far away.

* * *


	26. captured

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#31. art - (captured)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its settings, characters, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Riku had always been the artist of the group. He was flawless in everything he sketched down onto even the smallest piece of paper. Not only did he manage to draw an image well, but he could infuse an image with feeling and the essence of whatever it might be that he busily etched down.

That's what first drew me to him, I think. The first time he'd ever drawn a portrait of me (with quite a bit of vain reluctance from me), I had been shocked. He'd gotten it down so beautifully.

He'd captured me completely.

* * *


	27. quietening demons

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#60. peace - (quietening demons)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its settings, characters, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

There was a time, where I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think. I couldn't leave the safety of my own home for fear of what might happen. After everything that had transpired between us all, I was scared. My thoughts, my dreams, my surroundings would only ever remind me of everything I thought I'd lost and everything I wished I had for as long as it was out of my reach.

And then, they came back.

But still, my demons would never cease to have me retreating back into my protective shell.

Sora tried, tons of times to get me to open up, concerned as he was. And I tried.

But it never worked until he came to see me for the first time since he'd come back. No words were exchanged between us, he simply came and he sat with me, slept beside me every night, never asking any questions and not once asking for anything in return.

He never left my side.

* * *


	28. he could never resist

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#44. power - (he could never resist)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its settings, characters, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

It was funny. No, really, it was.

"I love this!" Kairi squealed with delight, twirling a bit. Looking over at Riku, she turned to face him, slowly turning for him. "What do you think Riku?"

"I'm thinking," he said, stretched out on a chair lazily, his lap full of clothing. "That _of course_ you like it."

Grinning, she went back inside the fitting room. There was quite a few outfits to go, after all...

Taking Riku shopping with her, was, as it turned out, actually quite a good thing. It was funny. No, really, it was. Sure, sometimes she'd feel bad, but she knew he didn't really care.

If he didn't want to buy all those clothes for her, he would say so.

* * *


	29. oh, it's war now!

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#61. war - (oh, it's war now!)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its settings, characters, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Kairi wasn't sure what she expected when the doorbell rang at 10:30 at night.

It certainly wasn't Riku.

"What are you doing here? Outside at this time?" She asked, mouth agape. "What if you got hurt?"

"I doubt it. And I was bored. So I walked here." He shrugged her concern off and sat on the steps in front of her. Kairi quickly shut the door and sat beside him.

"Uhh... Well, why did you come here? Wouldn't Sora be able to take care of your boredom better?"

Smirking, Riku repeated, "I doubt it." A few minutes of silence passed between them in which they bore witness to a police car driving by them slowly, the cop inside it nodding to them respectfully (which they reciprocated). They both laughed and guessed, just off the top of their heads, that he was there because of the house across from hers. "Do they always do that?" Riku asked, frowning as the people residing in the house and probably a few that didn't, screamed and laughed a little too loudly.

They both surmised that they were all drinking and the neighbours were just getting increasingly angry.

"Sometimes. This is probably the worst it's been, though."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Riku kept watching the house intently, as though willing it to burn down. Eventually, he stood. "Well. You know, someone should take care of it."

Kairi raised a delicate eyebrow. "Please tell me it's not going to be you."

He grinned. "Why not?"

"Well, what would you do, assuming you did decide to do something about it?"

"I don't know."

"Oh. Well, you're prepared." She smiled. "IF worse comes to worst, of course, you could always just take the paper bag off your head. That'd be sure to scare them."

He narrowed his eyes. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, it's war now!"

* * *


	30. chipped

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#26. violence - (chipped)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its settings, characters, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She hated to see him like this. She hated to have to watch him walk around with all of this baggage weighing him down, constantly. Memories and images of his presumably unhappy past... She wished she could do something to help him, after everything he'd done for her.

But, it was as much a part of him as it was Sora.

Maybe even more so.

The violence he'd needed to master in order to survive had chipped away pieces of his soul. He'd pay the price for the rest of his life.

She wished she could share his burden; but wasn't that what he'd been trying so hard to protect her from all along?

* * *


	31. distractions

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#62. rules - (distractions)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Riku, seriously. If we're going to do this..." Kairi sighed, a hint of nervousness becoming evident in her voice. "We need _rules_."

"Rules? What_ kind_ of rules?" The teen replied mischievously.

"No distracting me, for one!" Kairi blushed.

"Distractions?" Riku drawled, sidling closer to his clearly shaken best friend. Smirking, he dipped his head down to her shoulder once he'd scooted as close to her as he could. Breathing out deeply, he watched as she shivered from the contact of both his closeness and more so from his warm breath washing over her. "Never." He whispered.

"This... You... I can't believe..." She laughed. "We're -- no, I -- _I_ am never going to make it through this."

"Don't trust me?"

Throatily, she replied, "ha, trust. Not when you act like this and you're so damn... Close."

"Maybe we shouldn't do it then, I mean... I wouldn't want to hurt you..." He wanted to do the exact opposite, however, that much was obvious. Trailing kisses along her neck, he grinned. "We can get rid of this boredom in other ways anyways, we don't have to go and spar..."

"But you said I should learn..."

"There's many things you need to learn."

"Riku!"

Laughing he stood. "Fine, let's go. I'll try not to distract you--"

"But we--"

Shoving her gently out the door, he cut off any protests.

She had nothing to complain about anyway, it turned out.

They both got managed to get exactly what they wanted.

* * *


	32. like family, but not

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#22. family - (like family, but not...)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"This is Riku, my best friend. He's more like family to Sora and I than anything else..."

He had heard nothing else of the conversation, only that one little snippet. And he supposed it was true. He _was_ like family, more than anything else. Her confidant. Her older brother who watched out for her.

Never, ever, anything else.

Not like Sora.

Nothing like Sora.

* * *


	33. she never listened

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#18. enemy - (she never listened)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She never listened to him, did she? But that was okay -- he could keep telling these things to her until he was blue in the face and he would never stop until it had been drilled into her mind. And sure, sometimes he managed to get it into her head, fill her with doubt.

But she would go along anyway and she would get hurt.

_"Kai, please, just stay away from him." He sighed, raking his hand through his hair, frustrated. What was it going to take to get her to understand that he wasn't what she thought he was? "I know you don't believe what I tell you about him and god only knows why since I've never lied to you in my life..."_

_"Look, it's not that I don't believe you..." She placated, trying to reassure him only to fail once more._

_"But you think he's different around you? That you can change him?" He snorted and shook his head._

_She glared at him defiantly, unhappy that he was treating her like a child. "Look, that's fine, you can have your own opinions, but I'm also allowed to have mine. That aside, I can see whomever I want and shouldn't have to deal with this just because you don't like him. What are you, enemies?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Well, that's fine with me, just stay out of my way, okay?" Snatching up her bag, she stalked away from him, calling back over her shoulder, "Why can't you just wish me well for once? It's always a damned fight!"_

And now, here she was, in his arms and crying.

He would've liked to tell her he had told her so... And actually, he really did, so he just went for it.

"You idiot!" She cried, hitting his shoulder. Breathing deeply to calm herself down, she sat there in front of him and wondered aloud, "Why do I always do this, Riku? How come I never listen to you?" Chuckling, she leaned back into his chest.

"You like fraternizing with my enemies, I guess..."

"Yeah, I guess I must." She laughed. "All of those people you told me to go nowhere near and I do... And this is always the result. You're too good for me." She said, shaking her head.

"Never."

She spared him a dubious glance.

"I'll always be here to do that, never fear." He grinned. "I like telling you off, anyways."

"Of course you do." Conversationally, she added, "So, where's the customary ice cream? That's something I'll never get tired of." She said, feeling much better.

He rolled his eyes and stood, bringing her up with him. "That's something I could get tired of... You eating all my ice cream."

"No you wouldn't."

"You're right." He admitted. "I probably wouldn't."

* * *


	34. and so in the middle of the night

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#66. loyalty - (and so in the middle of the night)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

It was difficult, being the girl of the group; boys tended to fight tirelessly and eventually, there came a time where a very heated exchange would take place and friendship would finally be tested. Not talking to one another forced Kairi to have to choose, which she did not do. She did not choose. So, instead of taking one's side she stayed away from both of them.

However, she only stayed away in the light hours.

And so in the middle of the night she would make her daily rounds, always starting with Riku, who felt worthless enough for everything that had happened before they finally were able to stop going back and forth between worlds.

"Riku?"

"Kairi?" Riku asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Sighing, she walked over to his bed and sat down beside him. "Did I wake you up?"

"...No." He finally answered, after a momentary silence. "I've been thinking for a while and can't sleep."

Laying down beside him, she hugged his arm to her chest. "Well, I just wanted to come and tell you that... Well, since you and Sora are fighting, I don't want to be caught in the middle. I probably won't see either of you until this is resolved, because... I don't want you to think I'm taking sides or anything. Which, I won't," she reassured, nodding even though Riku couldn't see it in the darkness.

"Kairi, you don't have to do that. Just hang around Sora."

She knew he would never apologize first and likewise with Sora -- they would simply start talking to each other when they were ready. "Nope."

He sighed. "Thanks, though. I wasn't sure..."

"You're not worthless like you think, Riku. I love you, okay? You're my best friend."

Rolling over, he put his one arm around her and held her tightly for a minute. "I love you, too." He said into her hair. Chuckling, he let her go. "Now go see Sora, before he starts to wonder."

"How did you know!?" Kairi asked, swatting his arm.

"C'mon, Sora and I used to talk all the time about you coming to see us when we fought."

Huffing, she stood and placed her hands on her hips. "How rude."

He chuckled again. "Go. I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe."

Sighing, she said she would. "You better not have laughed at me or anything... I can't believe this. I said some pretty heartfelt things to each of you!"

"We appreciate it." He said, smirking and watching her climb out his window.

"You better have. This might just be the last time I do this, now that I know. Jerks," she muttered, slipping down onto the front lawn, leaving Riku smiling in the darkness.

* * *


	35. goodbye to you

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#23. sunset - (goodbye to you)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She would watch the slowly falling sun with captivation and tears; she would feel her heartbeat slow; she would slowly sink down to the sand and clutch at her dress. Digging through the softness, she would find herself a broken stick and draw letters in the ground, somewhere where the water would eventually reach in it's daily cleanse.

Finished, she stood and she walked away, knowing in the morning the message would have disappeared and it would mean nothing.

'Goodbye to you.'

* * *


	36. be there, but don't catch me

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#41. independence - (be there, but don't catch me)_

Disclaimer: I do no own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"I need to do things on my own -- I can't always have you there at my back, waiting for something to go wrong and then not letting it." Kairi sighed. "Learn from your own mistakes; I haven't done much of that."

"Yeah, well. Sometimes it's not so easy, especially when the girl I know is such a clutz." Riku replied, smirking at her glare.

"I'm serious, Riku."

"Yeah, I know. I was just telling you like it is." He shook his head. "It's not so easy standing by in the sidelines, watching all the while knowing I could stop something bad from happening to you."

"Maybe if I'd done that for you, you wouldn't be so..." She trailed off, deciding not to go into detail.

"It's not your fault, my actions, so stop blaming yourself."

"My actions aren't your fault either and nor are the consequences." Kairi smiled, loving how easily she could trick him into contradicting himself. "So please," she said softly. "Be there, but don't catch me. Let me fall and pick myself up. I was never there for you... So don't be there for me."

It wasn't the same and what she was asking was too much; but he didn't tell her that and simply nodded.

He wouldn't let what turned him turn her.

* * *


	37. I'm not counting

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#55. numbers - (I'm not counting)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"This isn't the first time!" Kairi screamed at him, wishing to the gods that the words would lodge themselves deep within that thick head of his. "It's not and you know it and my god, why can't you just leave it alone!?"

"Because it's tearing you apart, that's why." His voice was level, a great contrast to her own. He was tired of yelling at her and yet he knew it would get to that point where he would start fighting back because what she said only made him incredulous -- and with the great incredulity and over what, the anger would build and build, growing to such explosive proportions that holding back wasn't an option.

"You have no say." She whispered heatedly.

"You have no right." He retaliated, stepping closer to her.

"And who are you to say what I can and can't do!" Her hand moved in a motion she couldn't stop and she nearly hit him, but he caught her hand mid-swing. "After everything _you've_ do--"

_"I'm not counting!"_ He bellowed, putting an end to her tirade. Never before had his voice reached that octave; he resented the flicker of fear that passed through her orbs, only to fall deep down into the darkness he'd seen for so long clouding her feelings. "I'm not counting our damned mistakes, holding one against the other, fighting to stay one step ahead of the other."

"Then stop telling me," she said, ripping her hand out of his slackened grip. "What a mistake I'm making, what a terrible decision I'm making. Is that alright with you, can you _do_ that? If we're such equals then stop treating me like I'm inferior and don't know what I'm doing."

"You don't." She didn't bother to answer. "I'm just sorry you can't see it."

* * *


	38. beat off each other

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#42. heartless - (beat off each other)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

So many people thought they were okay.

Sora had defeated the heartless in the other worlds; he'd been mistaken to think that the victory had passed over to his own island as well.

They had travelled along the way, helping to make Sora's life a little more easier. They'd given him the support and the hope and the determination to win. One had lent a heart. The other had lent a hand.

But Sora never saved _them_.

And so they lived in a fake world with fake peace, trying to make everything alright. But in the darkness their hearts would beat simultaneously with the terror and the grief and the overwhelming depression that would never be lifted -- because nobody had ever gone so far for them.

Sora had done what he could, for them he said. Ultimately, it was for other worlds. It did nothing to halt what had befallen upon them. And now he neither noticed nor cared, taking happiness in pretending that it wasn't really there.

So they would beat off each other, hoping to find something within the other to hold onto.

And they did.

A heartless soul mingled with a heartless soul; the perfect companions.

* * *


	39. more than a single chocolate

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#70. truce - (more than a single chocolate)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"No more competition." His face was sombre as he spoke the words. "This is the end. You understand, I understand."

She nodded and held out her hand. "Truce?"

"Truce." He placed his hand in her small one and they shook on it.

Riku grinned and unwrapped the small piece of chocolate, sticking it into his mouth and moaning in pleasure. "Oh, it's so good, Kai, you'll never know what you're missing!"

Kairi glared; how dare he!? Standing haughtily, she suddenly broke out into a smile. "Yeah, well, when you gave me all of your money about two seconds ago for that tiny little chocolate, you obviously had lost your brain." Holding up a small bag, she indicated, "this? Yes, this will buy me _more_ than a single chocolate. And you just gave it up to me." She smiled sweetly. "You're such a great guy!" She scampered out of the room, ready to spend before he masterminded the return of the money.

Once he regained his brain, of course.

"Fuck me."

* * *


	40. I can't tell you

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#89. future - (I can't tell you)_

Disclaimer: I do not own KH, its characters, settings, etc. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"I can't tell you what the future will be like, Riku, you know that." Kairi sighed sleepily, laying within the circle of the aforementioned teenager's strong arms. They had been relaxing on the couch for a while now -- Kairi had fallen sick the day before and she felt so badly in the morning she didn't want to go out at all.

"Well," he murmured. "I can tell you."

"Oh yeah?" She yawned, snuggling closer to him and breathing deeply, feeling herself drift off.

"Yeah." He smiled. He said no more though, hearing her even breathing. But he'd not said it without purpose.

Now she would dream freely, dream of the future and what she wanted out of life. It would be a lot better than the present and perhaps even the one that lay ahead for her. He could only hope she would find the determination to make that future come true, to change her life into what she needed it to be.

Because staying with him would mean nothing if not for hope.

* * *


	41. no closer

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#19. adventure - (no closer)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"You know, for all our adventures," Riku said, glancing back at me from his spot on the shore. "We sure haven't gotten very far, have we?" He finished, smiling a little forlornly.

I tilted my head in question but he didn't see it. "What are you talking about?" I shook my head. "Where were you a year ago?"

He chuckled and was that a hint of sadness in his voice?

"What do you mean then?"

"It's nothing." He said, sighing.

I frowned, feeling like I was missing something hugely important about this situation. What _did_ he mean? When I looked at him, I saw someone well and perhaps a little over-travelled and that was rarely going to happen again after his experience in the other world's...

I didn't know that when he looked at _me_, he saw the woman he loved, who he risked everything to save.

And still he felt no closer to capturing her heart than before.

* * *


	42. have you looked in the mirror?

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#34. hot - (have you looked in the mirror!?)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She was pretty sure that he had no idea what he could -- and currently _was_ -- doing to her.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, looking towards me, concerned.

She laughed and shook her head. "Yeah, no, nothing. I was just... Thinking."

"About?" He asked, still oblivious.

"Just... Things. Thoughts only a girl could have that you probably wouldn't understand. Or want to understand."

"Try me?"

"No, that's okay." Her voice raised in octave and unfortunately for her, he noticed that little change. With narrowed eyes, he crossed his arms over his chest and gave her the look that told her she'd better spill everything or he would find out some other way.

"Have you looked in the mirror!?" The words tumbled out of her mouth uncontrollably and she felt the heat rise in her cheeks as she blushed.

He looked down and was suddenly very confused. "Huh?"

"See, I told you, so, uh, just... Let's keep going."

He gave her a disconcerted look before shrugging and turning back around.

She sighed inwardly.

And wasn't sure why the sight of Riku in an apron was suddenly so very hot.

* * *


	43. making sense

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#49. morning - (making sense)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

The morning was difficult for her.

Not every morning, mind you, but surely this one was different from all the other ones she'd ever experienced.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she understood why this was happening and as she wondered what the hell she was going to do about it. They'd... He'd... She had made sure. She couldn't believe this was the result of all of their... Squeezing her eyes shut, she knew she had to get up off the floor but she didn't particularly want to.

She wanted to sit there on the cold tile and let her thoughts consume her until something made sense to her.

Because nothing made sense to her right now.

Later, Riku would find her in the same spot, her eyes wandering aimlessly around the bathroom as he, panicked and unsure, asked her what was wrong, what he could do to help her, any and every question he could think of.

And only when she broke down once again, did he deem it okay to touch her.

As she listened to the whispered words coming from him as he rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her, to lull her into a sense of comfort and safety, she wondered how he would react. Would he be so willing to take her into his arms? Would he push her away? Would he want nothing to do with her?

With them?

* * *


	44. at least she was laughing

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#47. embarrassing - (at least she was laughing)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

He was embarrassed. What a shocker, given what had just happened. At least she was laughing. Whether it was at him, with him or something else entirely was beside the point. As long as she was laughing, he felt better about the situation... Because it assured him that she wouldn't freak out at him.

Or would she?

"Oh, my god!" She managed.

"Indeed." He muttered, throwing himself back against the couch and propping his feet up.

"You did not... Just...!"

"I think I just did." He snapped.

"Oh, come on now." She said, calming herself down. Looking at him was difficult given the fact that her eyes were full of tears brought on by her endless gasping. "I think it was cute."

He sighed. "Well, I don't."

"Lighten up!" She demanded, throwing her arms around his neck. She waited a beat and then sighed. "Well, at least that time was a success."

She was referring to the hug she was giving him. And the one she'd tried to give him before. For whatever reason, her earlier hug had flustered him.

So much so that he'd managed to fall right off the couch and onto the floor.

* * *


	45. tearing them all apart

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#25. choices - (tearing them all apart)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

There were two choices in her world.

What was right for her. What was right for all three of them, together.

It was always an easy decision. There was never any deep thoughts, any nights of crying and hoping for the best. There was only Sora, Riku and herself being happy and making it through the days together. Nobody was ever hurt. Nobody was ever left behind.

Never.

Until this very moment, as she looked between both of their faces and took into account what she was feeling.

This was no longer a happy unit. They were lashing out at one another and it was doing nobody any good.

And so, for once in her life, she chose for herself and only herself.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way." She whispered, standing and walking away from the both of.

The friendship she had thrived on over all of her years of life.

And the love that was tearing them all apart.

* * *


	46. magic exists

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#76. magic - (magic exists)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She knew magic existed -- she'd seen it used, for the better and the bad.

But she had never realized how many forms it took on.

Sometimes when she looked at him, she felt that spark inside of her, the jolt. Whenever their hands touched, whenever she felt his breath on her neck, she could feel a surprising sweetness rush through her body, warming her so completely... And it all ended only too soon.

Where did magic exist?

Everywhere.

Especially between them, making that bond so much more complete.

* * *


	47. nothing would ever be the same

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#80. wrath - (nothing would ever be the same)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Blackness spilling everywhere; from her eyes, from her mouth, from her body...

She couldn't even begin to explain what she was feeling and how new it was to her. She'd never felt this way before... And now she would experience it. And it would change her life forever. As violet eyes met bright aqua, emotions seething...

Nothing would ever be the same again.

* * *


	48. we're done

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#65. holes - (we're done)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

There were so many rifts between them. None voiced, none ever fixed. Paying the price now, things were beginning for fall apart and much was being confessed, revealed, tearing one or the other or both apart.

How many holes, how many lies had they let fester and grow into more than it ever needed to be?

Could things have been different?

Too much trust was lost that those questions would never be answered.

"Riku?" Kairi whispered, her voice nothing more than a sorrowful hiss in the darkness. His eyes snapped over to look at her indifferently, already knowing what she was going to tell him and already prepared to face the consequences.

The loss.

"We're done." And she walked away.

* * *


	49. cause I'm better

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#87. capital - ('cause I'm better)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"No, no Riku!" Kairi squealed, snatching the eraser out of his hand and working madly to get rid of the word he'd just written; his name. Perplexed, he looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with it?"

"You can't have this--" She explained, pointing out the 'K' in her name, as if it explained everything.

"Uhhh... I didn't write that in my name."

"No, I mean... You can't have a big 'R'." She pouted.

"Why?" Capital 'R'? Such a crime. "That's how my name is written."

"No." She stomped her foot on the ground defiantly.

He sighed and nodded. "Fine." But... "Tell me why or I'll do it anyway."

"'Cause I'm better than you, so you can't have a big 'R'." She replied matter-of-factly. "You have to have a small 'R'." She finished, nodding.

"Alright then." He said, rolling his eyes at the young girl. "I won't change it." He assured her, looking up at the writing poster on his wall dubiously.

Little did she know, when she left, he changed the names around.

_Riku and kairi._

* * *

**( AN. )** _Just so we're clear, they're children in this. :D_


	50. she could tell him

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#84. lies - (she could tell him)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Have you ever lied to anyone before? About something really big?" Riku asked casually, sparing her a mischievous glance; she could practically hear him say, just from that one look, that he knew she had too many juicy secrets locked up in that 'pretty little head' of hers. She scoffed in response.

"Please. I think I should be asking _you_ that question." She smiled. Regardless, her heart was beating erratically as one very imminent though popped into her head, one she'd battled with constantly and probably always would -- or did she not have to? She looked over at him, watched him look up at the sky in a daze...

She _could_ tell him. Yes, she could, but...

No. No, bad idea.

Besides, it wasn't a lie anyway. It was just what she knew he figured it was; a secret.

Her secret.

"You caught me." He laughed. "Why would I ask if I hadn't myself, right?"

Now she was curious and that wasn't the response she'd intended to get out of him. But now that she had... Why not have a little fun with it? "Okay, so spill. Who and what?"

Later, she would regret that.

Intensely, he looked down at her before looking a way, his eyes filling up with an indiscernible emotion. "Well, there's a lot of things I've lied about. I couldn't just pick something random... Some are more serious than others, some have nothing at all to do with you, nor would you be interested in them..."

"Have you ever lied to me?" She asked, tilting her head.

"No." He shook his head. "No, I haven't. But..."

"But...?" She egged him on.

"But I've lied _about_ you." He said slowly, watching her a little warily as he stopped walking. She did, too and she didn't even need to ask her next question. Did he really want to tell her so badly? Or could he just not stop once he got started? Should she stop him? Did she really want to know? Was it good, bad?

Questions she didn't ask.

Didn't need to, anyway.

"Sora asked me once, if I loved you." He took a deep breath, building up her anticipation even further. "And I told him no."

It took her a moment to register what he'd said -- after all, she'd just heard 'no, I don't love you.' But then she remembered this was a lie he'd told. A lie.

Which meant... He did?

"How long ago was this?" She asked in a small voice, finally being hit with the seriousness and the velocity of such a confession. He loved her? He loved Kairi, the princess, the one who couldn't hurt a fly, who couldn't take care of herself even though she professed she could.

What was there to love, she wondered?

Why had he waited until now to tell her?

"A couple of years ago." He wouldn't meet her eyes. "Just before I... I left."

"I... I never even... Suspected. Why didn't you tell me?" She felt breathless, so breathless...

"Because," he said, grinning wryly, almost sadly. "You had eyes only for Sora. Or at least, that's what it seemed like." He corrected, not wanting to sound like he knew what she felt. "And I knew -- I know -- he has feelings for you, so why jeopardize it for him? He's been through a lot."

"So have you. But then... Why tell me? Now? Has something changed?"

"Nothing has changed. That's the problem." He smiled gently. "I can't seem to get over you."

She said nothing, instead deciding, subconsciously, that she would just stare at him blindly as she thought of anything and everything. It was all a blur.

"I'm not expecting anything, you know... I just..." He rubbed the back of his neck and folded his arms over his chest defensively. "I just wanted to tell you. Finally. Because I couldn't keep it to myself anymore. And I would rather tell you than Sora."

"I don't know what to say, Riku." She whispered.

"You don't need to say anything. You know. That's all I want, is for you to know that I do love you."

God, she loved hearing that. 'He loves you.' She lowered her eyes to the sand beneath their feet -- had they really made their way over to the island? She smiled at the thought -- she got so wrapped up in him, she never realized what was going on around her until they were apart.

"Forget I said anything," he said, lifting her chin up with his strong hand and looking into her eyes as though he hadn't just told her something that completely shook up her world. "If that makes it easier."

"I don't want to forget."

He looked genuinely shocked and she wondered, with a pang of self-disgust and pain, if she'd really made it so much of a secret to herself that he'd never had even the smallest inkling that she felt the same.

Slowly, his shock turned into visible joy and he grinned. "Quit toying with me."

"Riku!" She yelled, smacking his arm. "Can't you muster something like what I'd expressed so terribly? Surprise? Shock?"

"Why?"

"It would make me feel better."

He laughed outright and she couldn't suppress a smile; he didn't laugh enough. Maybe now he might.

"Well... How did something so simple turn into something so complicated? And life-altering."

"I don't know." She admitted. "But I'm... Glad it did."

* * *


	51. carelessness

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#74. angry - (carelessness)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

He was so flippant.

Kairi watched Riku closely but discreetly as he mingled with all of the skimpily-clad blonde idiots that had invited everyone from the school to this high maintenance party.

Five minutes in, she'd been ready to leave.

She knew the jealousy pumping through her was unhealthy and uncalled for, as was the frustration directed toward what was, quite simply, the typical male disdain and idiocy Riku was displaying, but how could he just not notice!?

She wondered if his carelessness in gauging her feelings and emotions for him would ever cease.

* * *


	52. which one?

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#64. doors - (which one?)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

So many doors, leading to so many dangers.

Kairi looked up at the boy beside her; disguised, but no less her best friend. Riku. She wished he _wasn't_ disguised, though. She knew she'd be more at ease, even if only a little if she could just get a glimpse of those confident aqua green eyes.

"What is it?" He asked, obviously catching her staring.

Damn -- and then there was his voice. "Nothing."

Riku sighed, his amber eyes giving her an exasperated once over. "I didn't think I was gone _that_ long, Kai -- I can still tell when you're lying and what you're feeling."

She figured maybe he'd lay off if she decided to ignore that comment, but she could feel his eyes on her, waiting for the truth. Stubborn boy. Amazingly so, actually. He always managed to get it out of her; and usually, she would put up one hell of a fight, but she was scared, scared for the boy walking beside her, scared for the boy walking up ahead of them. Talking with Riku might make her feel better. "There's just... So many doors and I never know which one might be our last and it seems to be never ending. Doesn't it bother you?"

He looked relieved to hear that that was all that was bothering her. "I don't really think about it, honestly."

"How?" She muttered uselessly.

"Used to it, I guess."

She nodded, but added nothing.

Sensing she was still upset, he tried to turn the thought around. "Well, I mean, you don't have to think of it as the last door -- and I assume that by 'last' you mean the 'we might be done for' last?"

She nodded again, but hastened to add, "Not that I don't think that you and Sora can't--"

"Don't worry about it." He held a hand up. "Instead of that, I think of it as... The door that might lead me home. Maybe there'll be nothing behind it but the gate leading me back to you -- or I did, anyway, but since you're here now... Just home. If I pass through these doors, I'll be closer and closer until I'm finally there and once I am, I'll have everything to fight for... And that helps me beat anything. Besides, what're you worried about?" He asked incredulously. "I'll protect you with my life, nothing's going to happen to you as long as I'm around."

"That's what I'm worried about. I don't want you to be reckless and risk your life for me when you don't have to. I don't want to have to say goodbye again when I've finally found you."

"Then we better not screw up and head through the right door, right?"

"Right." She drawled, smiling and shaking her head. "So we're right back where we started."

* * *


	53. playing with fire

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#28__. fire - (playing with fire)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

They were practicing again, but this time with magic. One would attempt to shield himself while the other would cast until they managed to break through the barrier or push their opponent far enough back.

Kairi sprinted down the beach towards them, watching as Sora threw fireball after fireball towards Riku, but Riku just wasn't letting a hit in. He hardly looked like he was having any difficulty guarding himself against a powerful and dangerous element, actually. Riku was ultimately the stronger of the two, she knew, but she hadn't know he was_ that_ strong!

A sudden flick of Riku's hand had a fireball originally thrown at him hurtling back towards the caster. She heard Sora's gasp of surprise echo her own.

"You finally got it!" Sora exclaimed happily without letting up on his attack.

"Sure looked like it." Riku joked and in that moment he noticed Kairi. That was all it took.

"Damn it, Sora!" Riku yelled as he was hit and he caught fire. Kairi acted without a thought.

Riku sat up on his forearms after being pushed forcefully back into the ocean. "What the hell, Kai." He spat water out, looking at the girl that had landed half on top of him and half off.

"Well, I didn't see you stop, drop and rolling." She joked weakly. "You were on fire!"

"Oh yeah, I missed that with all the heat and the burning." He retorted, but he was smiling in amusement.

* * *


	54. moving on

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#81. darkness - (moving on)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She hadn't left her room for anything in three days and he figured he'd given her enough time by herself; was wasn't going to stand to hear about her wasting herself away. He let himself in the front door, having been welcomed to do so years ago by the entire household. He was greeted sadly, but happily, but her mother. "She's in her room -- I'm so glad you're here, Riku. If anyone can break her out of this spell, it'll be you." She embraced him lovingly and let him go.

He continued on upstairs, the grief and sadness shared by everyone tangible; he had to get her out of this place, that much was certain.

At least for a little while.

Slowly pushing the door to her room open, he noticed that, oddly, her room was as spotless as ever. Odd when the inhabitant of the room hadn't once left it. Kairi lay there, looking as much an object as anything else in the room, still as she was. Under the covers on her bed, she was awake and even from the door he could see her tears.

Then he saw the picture, standing and facing her. The source of her pain.

She'd placed herself in her own personal hell.

Walking over, he gently laid the picture down and as he did so, she shut her eyes tightly and more tears fell. He proceeded to sit down beside her and indulged in the silence with her, knowing she would simply be glad of his presence. He also knew, eventually, she would have to say something to him.

So he waited.

"I wonder when the memories will stop feeling so painful. And they're such good memories Riku, why does it hurt so much?" She asked softly, rolling over onto her back so she could look at him if she needed to. She wiped her tears away futilely as more replaced them.

"Kai, sweetheart, it's been three days." He said soothingly. "You need more time than you're giving yourself."

"Really?" She sounded surprised. "Everything is such a blur, even -- especially -- time." She fixed her emotional eyes on him. "Why'd you come?"

He sighed. "That was a joke, right?"

"You should... Go. I'm not good company right now, but I guess you can see that." She attempted a laugh. "I don't want you to sit here and watch me cry."

"I'm not leaving unless you come with me."

"Riku--"

"And if you refuse to leave with me, then I'll still find a way to get you out." He softened a bit. "I know it's hard and I know it's painful, but... Kai, maybe talking will help, but all I want to do is get you out of here for a few hours. We don't have to do or say anything, just walk. You need time to get past this, nothing else, but you can't lock yourself up in your room -- and you know Sora and I are always here."

"I know." She said, sitting up slowly. "Where is Sora?"

"He figured we needed to give you more time before we came barging in here, so..."

She nodded and everything was silent.

"The funeral is tomorrow, Riku." She said suddenly, with a rush of breath and fresh tears.

"I know." He took her hand.

"Come with me." Her voice broke and she lowered her head, hiding her face and raising her free hand to her mouth. She hastily tried to compose herself, not wanting to make Riku uncomfortable, wanting to battle the sadness. "I think it'll be a little lighter for me that way."

He nodded. "Let's go get some fresh air."

And perhaps she'd find a way out of the darkness and find a reason to start moving on.

* * *


	55. she would look after him

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#13. sacrifice - (she would look after him)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She knew something was going to happen when -- what was his name, Saix? -- those eerie amber eyes of his locked onto hers. The blank disdain that filled his eyes turned into an icy cold, mirthless humor and she felt her body tense.

She would have said something, but she hadn't had the chance.

Strong, gushing winds buffeted her and nearly sent her reeling; she couldn't see, couldn't speak loud enough to be heard.

And then it was only rushing past her. _Riku!? _He was shielding her with his body. She heard a grunt of pain as he was thrown forward hard by something she couldn't see, but, amazingly, they didn't fall and merely slid.

He let her go and she was just able to glimpse a multi-coloured, fading to transparent shield barricade she and Riku from Sora, Donald and Goofy. "Riku, we're not going to be able to help them." Kairi said, approaching the barrier slowly, reaching out to see if she could touch it. Stopping when Riku didn't answer, she turned. "Riku!?" Panic seized her at the sight of Riku on his knees, face fixed in obvious pain, trying to get his cloak off but his movements seemed limited. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head.

"Riku, stop being so masochistic--" She froze in shock when she laid her hand on his back, only to yank it away; her hand was covered in his blood. "Oh my god, Riku, why didn't you say anything!?" The wound looked deep and blood was running in rivulets down the back of his cloak. "Oh, my god..."

"Kairi, relax..."

"Relax, right... This is my fault..." She shuddered, feeling the prick of tears in her eyes following the feeling of helplessness surging through her. Once again she couldn't -- or didn't know how -- to help the boy who'd saved her life more times than she could count.

"Don't cry, you're making me nervous..." He joked weakly and was it just her, or did he look pale? "I'm fine."

"You're not fine." She noticed he'd stopped trying to remove his cloak. "You're cloak, do you need help getting it off?"

He shook his head. "I think it'll just make the bleeding worse."

She nodded and looked over at Sora, Donald and Goofy. They'd be battling for a while yet, it looked like.

Turning back to Riku, she set her jaw, determined. Breathing in deeply, she sighed. "Okay."

"Can you rip off a piece of your cloak or not? It needs to be a fairly large piece."

Swiftly, he tore off a well-sized piece and handed it to her. He was shaking, she saw and pushed down her fear, making sure he wouldn't be able to see it. Keeping one hand on his chest, she held him in place as she used to cloth to try to staunch the flow of blood, unsure of whether it would even help because of the amount that seemed to be flowing. Expelling a breath, she laid her chin on his shoulder. "I'm sorry... I can't do much else. You'll have to wait for Sora."

"Why do I feel like you dislike the idea of Sora helping me? How could you?" He joked.

"I don't." She protested. "Not really."

He shot her one of those looks -- he pulled it off pretty well, even with the face of Ansem.

"You're always taking care of me. I never seem to be able to take care of you." Riku finally fell back off of his knees as she explained. "Especially when you need it the most, like these last two years, now... What if you'd died, Riku?" What if he dies now, she thought, with me here, useless to help him, she thought, overwhelmed.

"Kai, what are you talking about? You always take care of us. All these years, even these last two," he stopped, needing to breathe. "Especially these last two. Knowing you were waiting for us, knowing you would love us no matter what... That's how we made it through everything." He nodded, seeing her skepticism. "At least, you kept me from the darkness; you're the reason I'm alive."

"Riku, I wasn't even... There for you."

"I love you, you know that. I wanted to come back to you, back home... And we're almost there."

"Almost there, so please... Hang on for the whole ride."

"You worry far too much." He said, wincing as he moved to try and find a comfortable spot to rest. He was slowly succumbing to the darkness of sleep, but he smiled widely at her.

"Kairi!" Sora finally cried out from behind her. She turned to face the boy as he ran over, surprise and then fear flashing across his face. "What happened, is he okay!?"

"He'll be alright. You might want to try to heal up his back, though..." She said quietly, pressing her lips to the top of his head.

And when he woke up, she'd still be there for him to wake up to. She would take care of him.

She wouldn't fail.

* * *


	56. his gift

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#8. young - (his gift)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Merry Christmas, Riku!" Kairi exclaimed. "Like your gift?"

Riku sighed. "I don't know, what is it?"

Kairi gasped, feigning shock. "Why, me of course!" She grinned, tugging gently at the bow on her chest.

He wondered if her innocence truly prevented her from understanding what those kind of words did to his heart, to his blood; even at the lovely age of sixteen.

She giggled and hugged him.

Yes, he thought, swallowing hard. Yes, it most certainly did or else she knew and liked to exploit.

* * *


	57. ever since

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#88. past - (ever since)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Sometimes she would watch him with Sora as the pair trained relentlessly. His face was set, cold and feeling, detached completely so if he inflicted what Sora liked to call as 'necessary harm' on his best friend, he wouldn't be ravaged with guilt.

He'd been like this ever since he'd returned with Sora that day a few weeks ago, the happiest of her life.

He was battle hardened.

He was a soldier.

* * *


	58. who would want to?

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#72. happy - (who would want to?)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Kairi's music was just a little below crossing the line of blaring as she and Riku laid around her room in silence, just listening and feeling the beat of the music. They were content simply being around each other.

Eventually however, the ever restless Kairi had to break the silence. She started to make the cutting motion over her wrists with a pretended razor and Riku raised a quizzical eyebrow. She smiled and, dramatically, asked, "Where is my razor?"

"All of this because of a song?" Riku asked. "Well..." He drawled, pushing his hand into his jean pocket and slowly pulling something back out. "You can have my... Razor phone!"

Kairi laughed and shook her head. "You're such a dork!" She threw a pillow at him. _Sometimes_, she thought.

"Suicide is not the answer, Kairi." He implored, moving over to cup her cheeks and make her look at him. "Honestly, who would want to anyway with me around?"

She jumped off the bed and went to the door, leaning backward and looking at her while hanging off the frame, "Well, haven't you asked yourself why I just tried to!?" She joked.

And then she ran, with him chasing her all the way.

* * *


	59. empty

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#99. writer's choice - (empty)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

How wrong could the world possibly be?

Just the air in the room, barely lived in over the last one, two years, was filled with tension and with sadness and she could feel it pressing down on her. Shutting the door, she inhaled nothing but clean air, his scent completely lost over the span of time that had passed.

Laying herself down on the bed -- his bed -- she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it used to be like, having him there with her, but she could conjure nothing.

Her world was devoid of his presence.

His room was empty.

* * *


	60. do you miss it all?

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#45. fame - (do you miss it all?)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Sometimes she would find him at the water's edge, staring off into the distance and her sadness would grow. Did he want to leave again? Sora already had, though he always came back often enough... If he left, would he ever return? Or would the fame he'd more than earned, the camaraderie of adventuring he'd discovered and the new, more exciting life of traversing the worlds steal her best friend away from her?

She couldn't ask -- or hadn't the courage to. She feared his answer, because is Sora, who'd traveled through every world for his one wish to return home could leave so easily, then certainly Riku could.

But maybe she should just ask -- she'd rather know and be ready than not, right? And maybe there would be a chance of persuading him to stay?

"Riku?" She called out to the boy silhouetted by the sunset shimmering on the water tentatively, taking her sweet time getting down to him. She said nothing even when he turned around to face her, waiting until she was standing beside him, unable to really see his facial expression.

"Kairi?"

She opened her mouth several times, meaning to say something, but losing the words each time. Finally, "I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now." She sat down on the sand and took her shoes off so she could feel the cool water between her toes. "Do you... Want to leave?"

"What do you mean by 'leave'?" He asked quizzically.

She sighed. "Go back, leave the islands for the other worlds, to be with Sora and go adventuring again; everything you always wanted?"

"Why would I want to do that?" He said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

"Sometimes I catch you looking into the water, the sky..." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Like you used to." When you so badly wanted to get away, she thought.

"Just thinking." He said as an explanation. "I always end up here when I think and I think more clearly with the open ocean in front of me."

"Oh." She said, more relieved than she thought possible. "Good. I don't want you to leave again."

"Nothing could make me leave the island and you again."

* * *


	61. lightning

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#57. annoyance - (lightning)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Kai, you missed it again." Riku called, a hint of laughter in his voice.

"What!?" She screeched in response, instantly rushing over to his side in front of the window. "That's the fifth time, isn't it? Why!?" She sighed.

"Drama, drama..." Rike tutted in response, standing. "Here, stay and watch and I'll go and find the DVD." She nodded in response and he wandered off. It never failed, he thought, that when there was thunder and lightning, she only ever got to hear the thunder. It could become tedious just sitting there, waiting; Kairi got far too restless too quickly and so she missed the great bolts.

Riku rummaged through the cupboard full of movies and, after a few minutes, found what he was looking for. He entered her room again and shut the door and she turned around to look at him pointedly, opening her mouth to say something.

And, while she was turned around, Riku saw through the window a brilliant flash and Kairi saw it illuminate the room.

He tried, for her sake, to bite back the grin, but it was futile.

And as she walked around the room after snatching the DVD away, putting it on and setting up the bed so they could lay comfortably, there were a few times more flashes.

She missed them all.

* * *


	62. trying to feel closer

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#50. night - (trying to feel closer)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"I think I know what we could be for Halloween this year, Selph." Kairi smiled down at the younger brunette and Selphie could tell from the wistfulness of her voice and the smile itself that it had something to do with the two boys who had left the island some time ago. Selphie hurt for her; the poor girl was nothing short of a wreck without them, but she managed to pull through each day.

"What's that?" She asked, grinning -- truthfully, she loved Halloween so if Kairi wanted to talk about it, that was fine with her!

"Well... I have all kinds of privileges, you know. I can go in and out of certain houses whenever I feel like it."

'What is she getting at, exactly?' Selphie wondered. "Okay..."

"I can go and grab some clothes as costumes -- we'd be perfect! With your shorter hair and my longer hair... We could be Riku and Sora for Halloween, everyone would think it sweet." Her face fell as if she was just realizing something. "I mean... Well, if you don't want to I could totally understand!"

"No, Kai, come on. Let's do it, it'll be fun." She reassured, knowing how much her friend needed to find a way to feel closer to her best friends. "So I guess I'm Sora, huh? Man, I can't wait to act embarrassingly in front of everyone! And I guess you're Riku. With a new hair colour." She grinned.

* * *


	63. how come Sora can?

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#24. questions - (how come Sora can?)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Why can't I sleep in the bed with you? This floor is too _hard_!" A young Kairi pouted, stamping her foot to give her meaning enthusiasm. "Sora gets to..."

Riku sighed and flung a glare at her; she hadn't stopped asking after this and he was beginning to get irritated. Didn't she understand? She was a _girl_. He and Sora were _guys_. It was less awkward with Sora because they both understood the boundaries. Besides that, Kairi cuddled and Sora fell asleep and stayed asleep without moving through the entire night.

He'd like to know who _she_ would choose if she was in his position.

"Look--"

"Riku!" She interrupted, not wanting to listen to the familiar speech of his.

He let out an aggravated sound and, to her delight, yelled "fine!" in her direction. She refrained from jumping up and down and squealing like a girl because she didn't know how mad he was, if at all. Better to take your victory in hand silently.

Until later.

Of course, Riku wouldn't regret his decision later on; having Kairi sleep in his bed ended up not being too terrible later on.

* * *


	64. three's a charm

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#62. rules - (three's a charm)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

**

* * *

**

"Rules?" She asked innocently inbetween the soft kisses she was bestowing upon his strong, tanned shoulder.

He grinned and sent her heart thumping even more wildly in her chest. How was it he could do that to her with a simple look? Did she feel the things she felt everytime she looked at him? "Rule number one," he sighed when she climbed on top of him. "Know that I love you."

"Easy enough." She smiled sweetly, dragging her nails down lightly over the broad expanse of his chest. "Rule number two?" She queried, tilting her head to the side.

"Rule number two... Don't ask me to stop." He said as he manouevered her underneath him in a flash.

"Somehow I don't think that's going to be happening."

"Good. I think we'll be alright then."

"Three's a charm?" She giggled, making him stop in his tracks -- not exactly wonderful for her, but she knew it was killing him too to be doing so much talking and not as much... Well, fornicating. She laughed aloud at that.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Fornicating." She barely got out.

He sighed. "You're killing the moment."

"Sorry, sorry." She said, trying to stifle her laughter and put on a straight face. She didn't succeed.

But she certainly settled down when he moved his hand between their bodies.

"Better. Rule number three..." He started, leaning down for a kiss. "Lay back and enjoy."

* * *


	65. it was just one of those days

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#51. chocolate - (it was just one of those days)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

It was just one of those days. He knew it from the moment he walked into the room and found her laying on the couch, one hand laying across her eyes and the other holding one of those heating pads across her stomach. He still remembered the day she screamed at him that she hated her stomach and, consequently, him. Why?

He was of the male variety.

He'd once learned the hard way.

But his life was a lot easier now.

"Kai?"

"Yeah?"

"Chocolate." He informed her, holding a bar out to her prone form. She raised her hand up off her eyes and smiled.

"You're so sweet."

"Yep. I know."

Because how many times had he heard that now?

Too easy.

* * *


	66. straddle

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#69. dare - (straddle)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"I dare you to... Hmm..." Sora thought aloud, scratching his head as he scrutinized Riku. Kairi was sitting beside him, her back up against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest in front of her. "I dare you toooo..."

Riku sighed irritably. "Yeah, you've dared me to sit here and do nothing for about five minutes, I get it already, can we move on?"

"Just pick something, Sora." Kairi said, echoing his sigh and sentiment.

"I dare you to straddle Kairi."

Kairi froze and her mouth nearly fell agape at the suggestion. Riku's eyes widened and only he knew the motivation behind Sora's decision as the brunette watched him closely. Riku knew he'd been more open with how he felt towards Kairi -- he wasn't hiding as much, rather -- and Sora had obviously been picking up on it. But if Sora thought he was about to back down in the face of friendship, he was wrong. Narrowing his eyes, he nodded. "Fine."

Sora tried to contain his shocked and almost panicked reaction, but failed; "wait, no, you don't have to! I was only kidding. Kai, if you don't wan--"

"Nah. It's just a dare, after all!" She laughed nervously. She, of course, could hardly act normal about this. This was Riku, yes, her best friend of years and companion through every possible hard time in her life, but... Straddling her? Being so close to her?

Any woman with eyes could see Riku for what he was -- an incredibly sexy seventeen year old.

And her feelings were not limited to Sora anymore, not at all.

Riku was, to say the least, interested in her attitude.

And perhaps her blushing said something to him, too.

"Maybe we should just cut out all sexual inuendo." Sora chattered away, but Riku was already on top of the girl.

"Is that it?" He asked, grinned manically. Kairi had her head turned to the side, away from Sora, willing herself not to faint or do something terribly feminine.

But didn't that say everything. Sora's face fell a little, but he refused to let Riku see his jealously and his indignation. He'd never been so close to Kairi in his life and there he'd gone, daring Riku to do the very thing he was so often tempted to do himself!

"Yes!" He blurted out quickly. Was he expecting more!?

Riku nodded and slipped off of her. Kairi still didn't turn her face to Sora, but realized her mistake in that moment, as Riku caught a glimpse and she saw the victorious gleam in his eyes.

"What a dare. I suddenly like this game a lot more!" Riku laughed, putting his hands behind his head lazily, leaning against the wall now.

"I'll bet." Sora muttered.

What a dare indeed.

* * *


	67. victory!

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#__54. victory - (disgusting!)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Your face is glowing!" Kairi laughed.

Riku wasn't even smiling. He had gotten terribly, _terribly_ burnt and his face was beginning to peel, revealing irritated, bright red skin underneath. "I don't find this funny, actually. At all." He deadpanned, sitting across from her on the docks.

"I do!" She grinned.

He nodded. "I know." And a second later, he was on his feet and standing over her shaking his shirt out. "How about now?" He asked.

"Wha--?" And with a screech, she scrambled backwards and fell off the dock into the water. She surfaced sputtering, "gross!" and "that's disgusting!" He simply stood roaring with laughter.

"I thought this," he said, pointing to his face. "Was supposed to be hilarious?"

"Where in that word lies hilarious _when_ you're shaking dead skin on me!?"

"Well, who's laughing now?"

* * *


	68. you can't do it

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#86. destruction - (you can't do it)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

If there was one thing Kairi couldn't do... Well, actually, if there was one place Kairi just shouldn't ever venture into, it was the kitchen. Riku had seen her in action before and he never wanted to again.

"You're cutting the watermelon wrong." Riku informed her, sighing.

"What!? It's a circle, Riku, but tell me -- how many ways are there to _properly_ cut a circle?" She shot back defensively. "Just don't start."

He merely sighed.

Again.

"The soup is probably burning..."

"Not." But she scurried over to have a look anyway.

And another.

"Oh god!" She cried, turning the stove off and taking the burning pot over to the sink.

"What'd I tell ya?"

"Then why did you ask me to do this?" She snapped, turning to face him -- and the knife was still in her hands, he worried.

"I wanted to feel the joy I usually get out of watching you struggle with food?" He offered. "Never a dull moment." He shouted after her as she left the room.

Fifteen minutes later, she walked back into the room, looking smug and smiling. "Back for another round?" Riku asked.

"Nope. I thought I'd try my hand at cleaning and, you know..." She trailed off, walking over to sit with him on the couch. "I think I'm pretty good at it! And I feel much better now."

"Ooo-kay..."

"But you can make the food, now. When he left her house an hour later, he could only laugh when he saw the things he'd brought over to her house scattered haphazardly across the lawn.

Soaked through with rain.

She knew how to fight back.

* * *


	69. all your fault

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#67. final - (all your fault)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"I'm going to fail, I'm going to fail, oh god, oh god, Riku! How do you do it!? You're always so calm whenever these things are about to happen and I don't understand how!" Kairi babbled. "How!?"

"Well, for one, I relax myself before I get up. Two, I'm naturally talented. And three, I don't really care about all that studying and whatnot, because, well, I've never needed it." He nodded. "So yeah, I can understand why you're like this."

"How rude." She huffed. "I don't know why I asked you anyway."

"Because of those three reasons." He decided.

"Right." She deadpanned. "Right, well, since you didn't care or study--"

"I still knew it though."

"Can't you do it for me?"

"I'm already graduated. I think that would raise a red flag of sorts."

"Oh, shut up."

"Okay."

"Well, no, don't shut up." Kairi said. "Spout off different things to me that you think would be on the final and hey, maybe I'll pass it. I'm pretty damn good at school, but I never seem to pass finals. And why? I still don't know, because I study and study an--"

"Kairi!"

"Yeah?"

"Go away."

"Fine, you asshole." And so she left. "I'm going to go and fail now and it'll be all your fault!"

And she would come back later feeling a whole lot better and Riku, of course, had known that that would happen.

It always happened.

* * *


	70. special

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#02. key - (special)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She knew it was concrete when he gave her the key.

"As long as you never lose it." The young boy said, eyeing her with a gleam in his eyes. Kairi blushed and forced a protesting face, with her hands on her hips and her foot tapping relentlessly on the gravel under her feet. "Then you'll always have me."

"I can go in your house?"

"Yeah."

"Cool." She responded with a nonchalance reflecting her age and they ran off to play on the islands. And she never lost the key, but she later realized how stupid she was to have acted so indifferent when they grew older and never fell out.

He'd never given anyone but her a key, after all. Not even to Sora.

* * *


	71. slow down

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#90. worry - (slow down)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

She had been overworking herself. It was a constant and something Riku figured stemmed from their separation; this is what she had done when he and Sora hadn't been there. This is what she had been reduced to underneath all the stress and the worrying.

But now they were home. She didn't need to carry on the way she did--

"I do, though." Kairi sighed, finally turning to face him. There was an oddly pronounced sorrow in her eyes, telling him the truth. She did need to do this. "And sure, you're here now, but what about later?" She asked.

"We're not leaving again, Kairi."

A lie.

"_Don't_ lie to me. You can tell me whatever truths you need to, I don't care about how horrific they might be. But do _not_ lie to me." She said, her eyes cold and hardened over with the knowledge of the lie. She shook her head slowly, those eyes never leaving mine. "Not about that."

She turned her back to me, a cold fortress waiting for the next blow.

* * *


	72. competition

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#32. satisfaction - (competition)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

There were lots of things that Riku was fabulous at.

Fighting, running (shall we just say sports in general?), school... he even danced like a star!

But there was one thing Kairi was better at than him.

Never in her life had Riku stood to make her speechless -- but when she had first kissed him, his eyes widened and he'd almost not responded to her.

And for a while afterwards, he couldn't seem to find the words.

* * *


	73. race

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#68. truth - (race)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Riku was an honest person.

He was, in fact, blatantly honest. He still managed to hurt her sometimes, but then she had to sit back and remember that she had asked for it. She had wanted him to never treat her like glass.

It had all started with a race. A race he'd _let_ her win and she knew it.

That was quickly followed by her tears and threats, leaving Riku uncomfortable and a little sorry, she believed.

The next race, he beat her. Mercilessly.

And forever onwards, he never coddled her. Never pretended and went about being fake for her benefit.

She liked it.

"I love you. And I know Sora loves you too, but I want you Kairi." He closed his eyes. "I just wanted to let you know; finally. Because I'm tired of dancing around everyone. So..." He let a whoosh a breath leave him. "You know. There."

He stood before her, clearly feeling awkward with her simply staring at him. She broke out into a huge smile and she could feel the happiness erupting out of her with the small action. She threw herself at him, wrapping her slender arms around his neck and laughing.

"I'm glad you don't want to dance around, cause I don't either..." Her lips pulled tight together as she watched the understanding pass through his eyes.

"I love you, too."

* * *


	74. pregnancy and marriage

******Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#17. friend - (pregnancy and marriage)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Do you ever wanna get married, Riku?" Kairi asked.

Riku whipped his head around, watching her a little warily. "Uh... I don't know?"

"I do!"

"Well, just make sure you save the marrying and _especially_ the children for when you've graduated, got it?" He demanded, not looking at her. "And before the children starts happening, I wanna meet the guy. And I get to decide."

"What!?"

"You heard me!"

Kairi burst into laughter and managed to choke out, "and what if I already know who I want to have kids with?"

"Oh?" Riku perked up, curious and a little bit dreadful of the answer.

"You'll just have to wait and see."

Riku scowled. "Don't wanna know anyway." He muttered. Kairi heard despite the low octave of his voice.

"Oh, I think you'll wanna know." She whispered slyly, brushing past him. Just a little too close.

_Only if the name's Riku_, he thought, following her down the beach.

Little did he know, it was.

* * *


	75. when I grow up

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#58. boredom - (when I grow up...)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Riku wanted to be a nudist!" Sora exclaimed, springing up off the ground into a shocked standing position, his eyes leaving the signature page of the latest year of school's yearbook to meet the writer's eyes.

Kairi smiled widely despite the fact that the heated glare being directed at her from behind her was liable to make her burst into flames at any second.

"Thanks for that, Kai -- maybe you should have warned me before you decided to put that there. Then maybe everyone in school wouldn't know." Riku cut in, the disgust littered through his tone more than evident.

"I couldn't help it!"

"When did he aspire to be a nudist?" Sora asked, trying to stem the hysterical laughter bubbling up in his chest.

"When we were... oh, maybe eight or nine, we were sitting on the docks, incredibly bored. He just randomly let me know that was what he wanted to be!" She laughed and Sora lost it, bursting out with her. Riku stood, rigid and left the room.

"Lesson learned." He said to himself, ready to go out and let loose enough secrets to make Kairi regret her ever picking up the pen. Never again would she be the first to sign _his_ yearbook!

* * *


	76. late at night

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#83. intense - (late at night)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Riku, why did we go and see a movie at midnight again?" Kairi asked, her fingers digging into his bicep with a strength Riku almost wanted to flinch at. He only felt it when he concentrated on her, but he relented from saying anything. Though...

"You know that you're safe with me by now, don't you?" Riku asked, hurt making it's presence known much to his dismay.

"Well, yeah, but... it's so dark! Can you even see!? I can't see! And there are creeps out here!" Kairi shrieked a little too loudly.

"Yeah, they can probably hear you and are coming for you now that you've insulted them." He smirked, glad for the cover of darkness.

"Shut up, Riku." She muttered, but she pressed herself closer again his side if that was even possible.

"You're safe with me." He sang aloud.

"Got it." Kairi returned, looking up at him. "And you know it." She added more seriously.

"Yeah, yeah... Stop complaining then, or I'll let them have you."

"You wouldn't!"

"I would!"

* * *


	77. dress

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#oo5. hate - (dress)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

"Ya know, that zip-up dress of yours is a little to provocative for my tastes."

"Good thing you're not wearing it then." Kairi flashed him a pretty smile, heading back behind her work desk to help a customer. Riku had come to see her, bored, while she was working and had realized, for the first time, that her dress was indeed zip-up. And it wasn't even completely zipped!

"Riku, why all of a sudden, huh?"

"That guy," Riku pointed at the customer's retreating back, "just stared at your breasts the whole time, waiting for the zipper to split!"

"Riku--"

"Or maybe he wanted to reach over and do it himself--"

"Riku!"

"Dress properly Kairi or I'll kill the next person and then you!"

She sighed. "I never say anything about the shirts that show off your stomach, Riku. I'm not even showing anything!"

"I'm allowed!"

"It's not even wrong in my situation either!"

"I'll burn it when you're not watching."

"I'll wear it to bed." She threatened. His face immediately broke out in sly perversion.

"I didn't know you were so kinky, Kai. I never objected to taking it off you myself and if that's what you have in mind--"

"OUT!"

* * *


	78. strength and luck

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#35. easy - (strength and luck)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

Kairi had had a hard time growing up with Riku. His random displays of strength had done nothing for her already infatuated heart.

It was a moment like this, when she and Riku had travelled all the way to the other side of town for a harmless bit of fun ice skating, where he would do something like that. 'To impress you!' Selphie would say, but she had never believed it.

Until now.

"Ready?" He asked, smiling boyishly at her. Feeling special, she thought.

"I guess so, just don't drop me!" She laughed nervously.

"Have I ever?"

"We're on ice now." She deadpanned, just as he started skating towards her.

He lifted her like she weighed nothing, holding her up for a moment before bringing her back down in front of him, keeping her steady and pushing her on the ice until she regained her balance. She felt nothing but a giddy happiness when he did something like that, knowing she was lucky to have him. Ask any of the girls who watched idly from the side, elbowing their own boyfriends and pointing, some she knew simply jealous of her relationship with the silver haired legend.

"You're amazing, you know that?" She asked breathlessly, turning in his arms so he was guiding her backwards.

"I know." He answered cheekily, kissing her forehead. "Ready for another go?"

* * *


	79. motorcycle ride

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#71. patience - (motorcycle ride)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

He'd been sitting here for an hour with her, trying in vain to coax her onto the damn bike. He was mentally snarling and cursing himself and partially her to hell. Just a little more, she would eventually break... "Kairi, come on. It's just a bike. You can tell me when to go slower and I will, okay, just trust me."

"I do trust you." She said, biting her lip. And after a moment, "when we die..." She gave in, sighing, but still thinking of everything that could possibly go wrong.

He smiled, buckling the helmet he'd placed on her head in a rush before she could retract her desicion. "We're not going to _die_, you drama queen."

A little patience and eager convincing would always break her. Though, sometimes it took a _long_ time.

But, he thought to himself as she held her arms tightly around him, burying her face in his back as he started the bike and slowly started to speed off, sometimes it was all worth it.

* * *


	80. scared

**Trust the Unseen ( Passion )**

_#oo6. water - (scared)  
_

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings and the like. These words, however, are mine.

* * *

He had never been scared of water before.

But then, he'd never been scared of darkness before, had he? Look where he was now.

The possibilities of water and its ways were endless, he now found. Water could drown and fill you up until you couldn't breathe. Just like darkness.

He would never look at the clear liquid the same again.

He would never look at anything the same again.

* * *


End file.
